




I 

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SIR WILLIAM CROOKES, D.Sc.,FR.S. 



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JOHN M. PRYSE 

Occult and Mystical Books 

NEW YORK CITY 



EVENINGS AT HOME 



IN 



SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 



BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. 
EDINBURGH AND LONDON 



EVENINGS AT HOME 



IN 



SPIRITUAL SEANCE 



Welfcefc togetber b£ a Species 
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v JLA^X&sCvkr 

MISS HOUGHTON 

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AUTHOK OF "CHRONICLES OF SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY 



SECOND SERIES 



LONDON 
E. W. ALLEN, AVE M A R I A LANE 

1882 

[All rights reserved] 



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GIFT 

MAURICE DU PONT LEE 

FE B. 6, 1046 

Property of the 
library of Congress 



EVENINGS AT HOME 

IN 

SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 

CHAPTER I. 

On the 6th of October 1870, I held my first seance after 
the return of Mrs. Guppy from her prolonged visit to 
Italy. It was of course a dark seance, and there were 
present at it Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. and Mrs. T., Miss S., 
Mrs. Varley, Mrs. Guppy, accompanied by Miss Neyland 
(whose mediumship in several phases was rapidly develop- 
ing), Mrs. Pearson and myself. After beginning as usual 
with The Lord's Prayer, I was influenced to offer up a brief 
petition that our re-assembling might enable us to receive a 
fuller measure of spiritual gifts ; that we might thereby be- 
come more fitted to do The Lord's work, and to shew forth 
His great Love to the world. 

In a short time Miss Neyland exclaimed, " Oh ! there is 
an angel : — it is Gabriel, — and he will soon make his 
presence known." We then all heard a sound like the 
rustling of large wings, not as if flying, but a gentle quiver- 
ing motion, which ceased after a time ; and I may as well 
mention here, that later in the evening she again saw 
Gabriel, and the same sound was then observable. . . . 
She then saw Mamma, my brother Clarence, and my nephew 
Charlie dripping with water, all of whom she had seen 

A 



2 EVENINGS AT HOME 

when I had been at Mrs. Guppy's seance on the 13th of 
September. After which she described a gentleman stand- 
ing between Mrs. Guppy and Mrs. Ramsay, whom we 
recognised as General Ramsay. She also saw " James " in 
letters of light, which was yet another proof ; and he beat 
the military call on the table with one of the paper tubes. 
She next saw a fair young girl, and her name, Motee ; she 
was holding a harp, and in illuminated letters were the 
words, " He gathers His lambs into His arms, and carries 
them in His bosom." She heard Motee sing, accompanying 
herself on the harp : we none of us shared the privilege, 
but she repeated to us the words of the hymn as they 
came : 

" Happy birds that sing and fly 
Round thine altars, O most High ; 
Happier souls that find a rest 
In a heavenly Father's breast : 
Like the wandering dove that found 
No repose on earth around, 
They can to their Ark repair 
And enjoy it ever there." 

After that she described Papa with great accuracy, and 
then she saw the sentence, " Cast thy burthen upon The 
Lord, and He will sustain thee : His arm will uphold thee, 
so that the deep waters shall not cover thee." 

To several of those in the circle were now brought 
bunches of white grapes, and to me was brought a very 
large cluster of purple grapes, and then Miss Neyland read, 
above my head, this text, in glowing letters, " I am the 
Vine, ye are the branches, and My Father is the Husband- 
man ; " — thus shewing us that the grapes were to typify that 
we must be fruitful branches. 

Mrs. T. said, " I feel as if an effort were being made 
to raise me, but you must not speak to me, nor touch me." 
The darkness being complete, we could not see how much 
she was raised, but she spoke occasionally, and her voice 
sounded very much above us, and when she had been 
gently lowered to her place, Mrs. Guppy said she had seen 
her feet above the level of the table, and the spirits imme- 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 3 

diately rapped in the affirmative, which they reiterated 
three or four times while we were discussing the subject. 
She said she had felt herself supported under the arms. 
Miss Neyland saw the letters M. E. S. T. before this cir- 
cumstance took place, and thought they were the beginning 
of a word, but they were Mrs. T.'s initials, with the inter- 
polation of that of her maiden name. This class of mani- 
festation is habitually spoken of as levitation, but when we 
realize that a person is thus lifted up by spirits, by the 
means of their own spirit-substantial hands, I do not see 
that the word is more needed than when we see an infant 
carried by its nurse. It also often amuses me when people 
say that it is " contrary to the laws of gravitation " when a 
table is raised in the air without visible contact, but they 
do not imagine that they break a law when they lift up a 
light table with their own hands, and yet that is an exercise 
of a precisely similar power. 

Mrs. Ramsay's handkerchief was gently withdrawn from 
her hands ; it was afterwards knotted into the form of a 
figure, and tucked into the front of her dress. There were 
several attempts for direct writing : on one sheet of paper 
Motee wrote (and Miss Neyland not only saw her while 
doing so, but she read each word aloud as it was written, 
and as we afterwards read it for ourselves), " Believe on 
The Lord, and you shall be saved." On another sheet 
were the words " good daughter," which I believe were 
written by Papa. We were then desired to have a light for the 
remainder of the seance, when Mrs. T. and Mrs. Varley 
saw a figure standing behind me whom they described very 
clearly, as also that he had on a blue coat with metal 
buttons, and Mrs. Varley especially noticed the ring on his 
finger, which she at first thought was only a thin gold one, 
but she then discovered that there was one small stone. 
The description was in all respects perfectly accurate of a 
friend who had passed into spirit life on the 6th of January 
1 86 1 • the ring had been his mother's wedding-ring, into 
which he had had a small diamond set, so as to make it 
more suitable for a gentleman's wear, so that she saw it in 



4 EVENINGS AT HOME 

both its phases, thus identifying it the more completely. I 
now brought my photograph albums for them to look at 
(which I had been forbidden by my spirit friends to do 
before the seance), and the moment Mrs. Varley came to 
one of the portraits, she exclaimed, " Why there is the 
gentleman I saw standing behind you, and that is the very 
coat, with its metal buttons." While she was speaking, 
both she and Mrs. T. again saw him. Miss Neyland 
also recognised the likenesses of several of the spirits she 
had seen, which gave an additional interest to the latter 
part of our seance, which we closed with a few words of 
thanksgiving. 

On the following Sunday I accompanied my sister to 
Westminster Abbey, where for the first and only time I 
heard Dean Stanley preach, and I am induced to speak of 
it now, as he has been so lately withdrawn from the earth- 
plane to enter upon the realities of the world beyond, of 
which I believe him to have had some foregleams, although 
he may not have had the courage to proclaim the new 
truths that had come to him. It is a marvel to me what 
such a man could dread ; for his position in life was un- 
assailable, and his testimony, however slight, might have 
been as a tower of strength to those whose worldly prospects 
would risk being shaken by such an avowal. If all those 
who lean towards our side would boldly say, "Such and 
such proofs we have ourselves received," — the voice of 
scorn would soon be shamed into silence. But the thorns 
are not to be thus removed from our path; nevertheless, 
I believe that such reticence will meet with its penalty in 
the hereafter, and there may come the words, "Whereas 
ye have not lightened the burthen of My suffering servants, 
ye cannot yet enter into the joys prepared for the faithful." 

My next seance was in honour of Mamma's birthday, 
on the 22nd of October, and the circle was composed of 
Mrs. Ramsay, Mrs. Guppy, Mrs. Pearson of Harpur Street, 
Mrs. Beresford Scott, Miss Williamson, Miss Neyland and 
myself. As we concluded The Lord's Prayer, the table 
was gently tipped three times, as a sign that our invisible 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 5 

friends had united with us, and they have frequently on 
other occasions given us a token to the same effect. 

The first spirit Miss Neyland saw was Mamma, looking 
especially radiant, then with her she saw many others of 
the family, but she could not separate them sufficiently in 
her vision to describe them. She then saw a young girl 
(Motee) by the side of Mrs. Ramsay, and she was accom- 
panied by a number of Indians, some of whom had white 
cloths tied round them, but some had not. General Ramsay, 
dressed in uniform, then became visible to her, taking 
Motee by the hand; also many more Indians. She saw 
an angel behind me, and upon my asking the name, saw 
" Gabriel." 

We heard rustlings of leaves, and felt that upon the 
table there was a mass of something, wet with rain, and we 
also heard the fluttering of a bird's wings : gradually we 
each felt that a wreath of some kind was placed upon our 
heads, except upon that of Mrs. Pearson, whose wreath 
was laid upon her hands, under which she had laid upon 
the table a pocket-handkerchief I had given her that had 
been embroidered by Mamma. " Light " was then spelt 
out, and we found that we had been crowned with garlands 
of ivy twined into wreath-forms. When again in darkness, 
Miss Neyland said that Mamma was writing on the wall, 
and the words were : " We have crowned you all with 
blessings, that you may do The Lord's work upon earth." 
. . . She then saw a tall lady standing between Mrs. 
Guppy and me, but she could not distinguish all the name : — 
she saw a C and then Mole, and Mrs. Pearson asked her 
to go round to her (she was her sister, Clara Mole), which 
she immediately did, and answered a few questions by 
raps. . . . Miss Neyland saw Mamma write the message, 
"Dear daughter, I thank you for glorifying the remembrance 
of this day as much as while I was on the earth." She 
said Mamma seemed to be very busy indeed, and a message 
was spelt, "Put six glasses under the table." I did so, 
and we heard a ringing sound from -them several times, 
but they did not succeed in producing music, which I think 



6 EVENINGS AT HOME 

was what they had wished. Mrs. Scott saw many lights and 
stars, some of which were visible to Mrs. Pearson, and we 
all saw one in the centre, but only rather faintly, while 
Mrs. Scott was struck with its brilliancy. I had placed a 
sheet of paper and a pencil under Mrs. Ramsay's chair, 
which we heard moved away and written upon, and Miss 
Neyland saw Motee doing it, and we afterwards read the 
message, "Dear Mother, I am very happy;" and Mrs. 
Ramsay took it home with her. 

The alphabet was asked for, and we received the direc- 
tions to " Eat, and sit again." This was so contrary to 
the usual custom of our seances here (for it was not quite 
nine o'clock), that we could not help wondering at it, but 
when we asked whether they wanted to gain physical power 
for an especial purpose, they answered in the affirma- 
tive. Of course we did their bidding, and when I had 
lighted the candle, we found a white feather on the table, 
which looked like the wing-feather of a white dove, and 
must have fallen from the bird whose fluttering we had 
heard. 

On our return from supper, Mrs. Ramsay asked, as I 
came to my place after extinguishing the candles, whether 
I had touched her, which I had not, but she had felt some- 
thing like a veil passed across her face. The alphabet 
having been again requested, they spelt out, "We will 
bring Sacha Home's pocket-handkerchief," and I immedi- 
ately felt a handkerchief laid on my hands for a moment, 
after which it was given to Mrs. Ramsay; w T e were then 
told we might have a light, and lo ! in front of her there 
was a small cambric handkerchief with a very broad hem, 
with the name of Sacha Home written with marking ink 
in small letters in one of the corners. When again in 
darkness, Mrs. Ramsay, who w T as much struck by what had 
taken place, asked if Sacha were present, and she answered 
" Yes." Miss Neyland saw and described her so accurately 
that Mrs. Ramsay, who w r as the only one present who had 
known her, recognised all the details. She then asked 
Sacha if she remembered something in connexion with this 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 7 

manifestation, and she rapped out, "In Regent's Park, I 
think." 

Mrs. Ramsay then narrated that at a seance with Mr. 
Home at the house of Mrs. Crawford Parks, in the Regent's 
Park, not long after his wife's death (which took place in 
1862), Sacha made her presence known, and she told Mrs. 
Ramsay she would give her one of her pocket-handkerchiefs ; 
the seance was, however, concluded without its having been 
brought to her, and Mr. Home expressed his surprise that 
she should have made a promise and not have fulfilled 
it ; — and now, after a lapse of upwards of eight years, she 
had been enabled to perform what she had then promised ! ! ! 
The tubes had been moved about many times in the course 
of the evening, and Sacha was now making an effort to use 
one j at length, in a very gentle voice, she said to Mrs. 
Ramsay, " I never forget you ; " and they held a little con- 
versation, but as Sacha had not much power, she soon said, 
" Good-night ; " but upon being asked if she had any mes- 
sage for her little boy, she answered, " I love him." 

Some delicious perfume was sprinkled upon us, and at 
that moment Ann came to the door to enquire if Miss 
Leith might be admitted ; to which an immediate consent 
was given. I had invited her to the seance, which to her 
mortification she had had to decline, as there was a dinner- 
party at home, but when she could make her escape, she 
thought she would come and plead for admission, so as at 
any rate to enjoy some portion of the seance, and she was 
much amused to see us all with our ivy crowns. Miss 
Neyland beheld an elderly lady, not very tall, standing 
behind her, but she could not see her with sufficient dis- 
tinctness to describe her, in consequence of Miss Leith's 
atmosphere not having been harmonised into the circle by 
sitting with us from the beginning, but my spirit friends 
told me that it was her grandmother. Mamma had always 
been very fond of her, and expressed her pleasure at her 
having managed to come for her birthday fete. Motee, 
too, who had several times been carrying her Mamma's 
little silver bell about and ringing it, now rang it again, 



5 EVENINGS AT HOME 

and took it to Miss Leith. They were now very busy with 
the tubes, especially in the neighbourhood of Mrs. Pearson; 
they then brought one to me, and laid it across my arms. 
" Light " was then spelt, and we found that upon the tube 
was written " Look inside." There was also some writing 
within it, but too far up for us to do more than see that 
it was there; so I had to cut the paper and unroll the 
tube, and withinside were the words, " Dearest Mary," 
which were meant for Mrs. Pearson, and were written by 
her mother, my Aunt Sarah. We all felt the touch of 
hands very distinctly, and once I was allowed just to catch 
the hand touching me, which was that of Motee, who then 
fingered for some little time my pearl ring as her own 
memorial. At length, after many caressing touches to 
each of us, " Good-night " was spelt, and our interesting 
seance was terminated in the usual way. 

I was with Mrs. Guppy on the 3rd of November, when 
she told me that as they were going home, Miss Neyland 
mentioned that she had seen an additional crown hovering 
in the air, which they supposed had been intended for 
Miss Leith, but that the spirits had probably not been able 
to bring it to her when she joined the circle, because of 
her not having been present during the whole seance. 
But to Mrs. Guppy's great surprise, when she went up to 
her room, she found the said ivy-wreath on Mr. Guppy's 
pillow. 

I generally think it best to leave calumny alone, to die 
out of itself, but for once I must depart from my own rule, 
as the publication of this seance may stir the wrong into 
fresh life, so I will as briefly as possible relate the facts 
upon which a false accusation was grounded. Mrs. Guppy's 
grandfather, Mr. Nicholl, was, as I have previously men- 
tioned, a sculptor, and a model who came to his studio 
left behind her a pocket-handkerchief on which was the 
name of Sacha Home. How she had come by it I know 
not, perhaps she might have been a laundress as well as a 
model, and the handkerchief may have been forgotten to 
be sent home. It had, however, remained among Mrs 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 9 

Guppy's things, and she had mentioned the fact to several 
friends. One of those soi-disant friends, who ought to have 
known Mrs. Guppy better, when she heard what had 
occurred here, immediately took it into her head that that 
was the handkerchief that had been produced at this house, 
and whispered her suspicions of trickery around, until, 
through my cousin, they reached my ears ; and as I like 
to clear away all mysteries, I told Mrs. Guppy the next 
time I went to see her of the rumours afloat, thinking it 
possible that her powerfully mediumistic element might 
have enabled Mrs. Home to convey that identical piece of 
cambric into my room. "Oh dear, no," was her immediate 
reply, "t/iat handkerchief is still in my possession: we will 
go up together, and hunt for it at once, for I know I put 
it into the drawer with Tommy's things." Sure enough, 
there we found the handkerchief, which was very different 
from the one that had been brought here, for instead of 
the delicate marking with indelible ink, the name was 
embroidered with red cotton in large fancy letters. I must 
still fight out the question a little farther, for even had it 
been the self-same handkerchief, that would not have 
touched the circumstances, for it was given here in fulfilment 
of a promise made so long before that it had slipped out 
of Mrs. Ramsay's memory, and no one else had known 
anything about it at all. 

November nth, I was present at a seance on the after- 
noon of yesterday, at Mrs. Guppy's, the circle consisting 
of ten persons, among whom were Mrs. Ramsay and Mr. 
Coleman. The spirits, after having requested us to wish for 
something, brought us a quantity of freshly gathered violets, 
mignonette, geranium leaves and fern leaves, all wet with 
rain. There were other manifestations, in which were given 
decisive tests of Miss Neyland's clairvoyant powers, but 
those personally interesting to myself referred chiefly to 
Mamma and Clarence. . . Then there was a certain undu- 
latory movement of the table, like that of a vessel at sea, 
which gradually became more vehement, the strangers 
present finding out the similitudes, and suggesting that 



IO EVENINGS AT HOME 

they referred to some one who had been drowned, assent- 
ing answers being given by the tippings of the table, and 
at the same time Miss Neyland saw behind me the youth 
dripping with water whom she had before described. He 
then traced in letters of light : 

o 

" In vain your fancy strives to paint 
The moment after death ; 
The glories that surround His saints 
Beyond the parting breath." 

She says the writing is difficult to read in such cases, 
because it seems to appear and then disappear. I have 
heard in other instances, of the writing coming letter by 
letter, the first fading as the next shines forth. 

After the seance was over, while we were chatting, I 
regretted that I had not fulfilled a previous resolution, 
which was that when the spirits should desire me to wish 
for something, to ask them to bring me a stone, for not 
being a perishable article, I could always keep it, adding 
that their bringing it to me would make it a precious stone. 

I am now just returned from another seance at her 
house, which has been the most extraordinary I have ever 
attended. Mrs. Chevalier and a lady friend of hers were 
the only visitors besides myself, and we went down to the 
sitting-room, with the intention of having tea, but Mrs. 
Guppy had just heard some powerful raps, desiring that 
we should not have tea before the seance ; so we walked up 
again into the room where it was to take place, and Mrs. 
Chevalier's lady friend, who had never before been at any 
seance, was requested by Mrs. Guppy to make a strict 
examination of the room, which she did most thoroughly, 
finding nothing but the simple furniture of table, chairs, 
sofa, and piano : the door was then locked and the key 
given into her possession. On the table were some sheets 
of paper, a pencil, a tambourine and a bell ; and the circle 
consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Guppy, Miss Neyland, the two 
ladies I have mentioned, and myself. The gas was turned 
out, and when we had united in saying The Lord's Prayer, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. II 

our invisible friends made an affirmative signal at the con- 
clusion to imply that they also had joined with us. The 
alphabet was then asked for, and they spelt out the message : 
" We will bring you a precious stone," which led to my 
repeating yesterday's conversation, and after a short time 
Mrs. Guppy said, " They are trying to move my hand 
round, so as to turn the palm upwards ; " and then she 
added, " Here is something small ; am I to give it to Miss 
Houghton ? " " Yes," was the response. When I had 
received it, we wished to light the candle, which they 
negatived, but allowed me to tie the small article into a 
corner of my handkerchief. We were then desired to hold 
hands all round. The tambourine was then played rather 
noisily, being carried to different parts of the room over 
our heads. Something cold was now placed on my hand, 
which felt like a saucer, and we gradually heard unmistak- 
able sounds of crockery, the table being all the time in 
considerable motion. Mrs. Guppy began to fear that they 
had brought her best tea-service, Which had been laid out 
in the lower room in readiness for the repast, but she was 
left in her anxiety, for our request for a light was again 
refused. The clatter of cups and saucers became still 
stronger, and we each felt something thrown into our laps, 
but we continued to obey the injunction not to unclasp 
hands, and at length received the welcome permission to 
strike a light, when we found that to each of us had been 
given a table-napkin, another having been spread on the 
table, upon which were seven cups and saucers (not those 
she calls her spiritual ones, from having been our gift to 
her), six small plates, a larger one (empty) for bread-and- 
butter, a jug of milk, a glass sugar-basin containing sugar, 
with sugar-tongs, and some biscuits. After we had investi- 
gated all, and remarked that the tea only was wanting, we 
were desired to extinguish the light, and almost immediately 
Miss Neyland made a sudden exclamation that something 
had burned her cheek, so we begged leave to light the 
candle, which was at once granted, and lo ! there was the 
teapot, containing some very strong tea, and the no longer 



12 EVENINGS AT HOME 

empty plate had on it a portion of the cake of which we 
had partaken the evening before, and a knife to cut it with. 
Of course we had our tea, and enjoyed it. I then examined 
my gift, which was a beautiful ruby, rather larger than one 
for which I had given £$ about five years ago, and also 
more exquisite in colour, so that my stone is lite?'ally pre- 
cious. When we were again in darkness, Miss Neyland dis- 
tinguished some of my spirit relatives, also Mrs. Chevalier's 
little girl, and others belonging to her. We were tenderly 
touched by the loving fingers of those so dear to us, Mrs. 
Chevalier feeling her child's hand very distinctly. A 
Neapolitan tortoise-shell dagger (a gift from Mrs. Guppy) 
that I wear in my hair, was gently withdrawn, and taken 
to Mrs. Chevalier, who was allowed to hold it for a time, 
but it was then brought back and replaced in my hair. 
Something was heard to fall into the cup near Mrs. Chevalier 
that sounded like money, — it was a shilling, which she was 
desired to keep, and Mrs. Guppy afterwards made a hole 
in it, to enable her to hang it to her watch-chain. Dear 
Motee felt on my finger for the ring which is her emblem, 
and gave me a little tap of reproach for not wearing it on 
this occasion. " No more," was then spelt, but even after 
the door had been widely opened, so that there was a good 
deal of light, Mrs. Chevalier again felt the touch of her 
little girl's hand. 

I then went to the kitchen to ascertain whether the ser- 
vant had made the tea that had been brought to us, but 
she knew nothing whatever about it, and thought I was 
reproving her for not having made it in readiness for us. 
Miss Neyland then looked into the caddy, where there had 
been nearly half a pound of tea, but it had all vanished, so 
it was no wonder our tea had been so strong. The table- 
napkins had been brought from a linen press upstairs, and 
the teapot was also brought from an upper room, being one 
they were not in the habit of using. 

In talking afterwards over that marvellous seance, Mrs. 
Guppy said how glad she would have been if any such 
manifestations would have come on the previous day, when 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 3 

there were visitors of importance present, — but it was the 
very fact of our being such a small circle, composed of 
strong mediums, with only one single stranger in our 
midst, that rendered it possible for such evidences of spirit 
power to be given. The tea itself must have been made 
in the sitting-room, where our meal was to have been taken, 
for there was a good fire, and the kettle was on the trivet 
in readiness for use. The room also was, so to speak, full 
of Mrs. Guppy, so that there was plenty of her atmosphere 
to be gathered for their purposes. Such conditions are 
well understood by Spiritualists, who know that they may 
therefore reasonably expect more striking seances at the 
medium's own house than elsewhere, more especially if 
there is additional power among the members who form 
the circle. 

She invited rather a large party for November 25th in 
honour of Mr. Guppy's birthday, the circle consisting of 
eighteen persons, of whom (by the direction of the spirits) 
only four sat at the table, Mr. and Mrs. Guppy opposite 
each other, Miss Neyland and myself between them ; the 
others being arranged in two semi-circles beyond. I had 
heeded the reproach given by Motee on the previous 
occasion, and had duly put on my oriental pearl, and as we 
commenced The Lord's Prayer, I felt her take my hand 
with her warm living fingers, and at each petition she 
signified her concurrence, either by stroking my hand or 
patting the ring. At the conclusion, I asked Miss Neyland 
if she saw any spirit touching me, and she answered, " Oh ! 
yes, the fair young girl, Motee." 

Some musical instruments were on the table, and among 
them one composed of eight metal cups (forming the scale), 
one above another on a handle, which emit a bell-like 
sound when struck. Upon this the spirits played "The 
last rose of summer " : — they then struck one single note, 
and carried the instrument round and round the room 
until the sound had faded away, and so on with each note : — 
after which they produced the most harmonious effect I 
ever heard ; they struck the deepest note, carrying it once 



14 EVENINGS AT HOME 

round, above our heads, so that the room was rilled with 
the vibrations, then the second in the same way, until at 
last we heard the vibrations of the whole eight, softened and 
blended into one another, forming, if I may so express it, 
a perfect rainbow of sound. 

We were all freely sprinkled with perfume. The message 
was then spelt, " Faithful must wish," (for fruit), and after- 
wards, " Each must wish." I had asked for a banana, and 
each of the others requested fruit of some kind ; almost all 
the wishes being complied with, sometimes instantaneously, 
and sometimes with a little delay • one friend having 
a cocoa-nut weighing a pound and a half, and one a water- 
melon that weighed four pounds. At length we were told 
to leave off, and return in an hour, so we retired to the 
adjoining room to have supper. 

There were present two members of the spiritual press, 
who took down the depositions of each person's requests 
and the result, and I must quote one item of the report, 
as being so characteristic of Mrs Guppy, whose great weak- 
ness it always was, as she termed it, to " eat the manifesta- 
tions." . ..." I asked for some barberries, a pear for my 
little boy Tommy, and a quince, all of which were brought 
immediately. I began to eat the fruit, so Miss Houghton 
said, ' It would serve you right if they put a capsicum in 
your mouth,' and instantly it was done. Elizabeth Guppy." 

Shortly after our re-assembling, they commenced rocking 
the table in a very peculiar manner, as if to represent a 
vessel at sea, gradually increasing the speed as if racing, 
and the movement became so vehement that we feared the 
table would be broken, upon which Mr. Guppy said they 
were quite welcome to break it, when they immediately 
took advantage of his permission, making a complete wreck 
it ! We asked Miss Neyland what she saw, and she said it 
was the young man with the water streaming from him 
whom she had on other occasions seen near me. She also 
saw a steamer partly under water, and another in the far 
distance, and at last, at the final plunge of the table, her 
dress and petticoat were drenched with water, and remained 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 5 

quite wet all the rest of the evening : some of the water fell 
likewise on my skirt, although I was not near her, but I was 
not soaked as she was : there was no sound of water flowing, 
but suddenly it was upon us. She afterwards told me that 
she could not make out the name of the vessel, but she saw 
first a C and further on a T. — The Carnatic was lost in 
the Red Sea, through racing with a French steamer, and 
my nephew, whom she saw, was one of those who were 
drowned. 

Miss Neyland (chair and all) was suddenly brought 
across to my side, and Mrs. Guppy exclaimed that they 
were tying something round her throat, Miss Neyland said 
they were doing the same to her, and I felt something 
being passed over my head round the back of my neck, 
but when I put my hand up to feel what it was, thus taking 
hold of it, they brought it in front of me, and then said we 
might have a light, when we found that we three were 
united together by a woollen band of drugget. There was 
then a little discussion about the Davenport manifestations, 
and one gentleman said he would be very willing to have 
his hands tied behind him, for the spirits to try to take off 
his coat under those conditions, but when we asked if they 
could do so, the answer was doubtful, they however thought 
they might be able to do it with another member of the 
circle, and we were informed that Mr. Guppy himself was 
to be the person ; so his hands were tied behind him, and 
firmly secured to his chair, but as soon as we were in 
darkness, we heard him expostulating very strongly as to 
their proceedings, for they were unbuttoning his waistcoat, 
and emptying his pockets. After earnest pleadings on his 
part for a light, he at length obtained the desired permis- 
sion, when we found that his coat and waistcoat were not 
quite taken off, but only turned back upon his arms : his 
watch had been carried to one gentleman, his note-book 
and cravat to another, and his spectacles to me. He was 
now very anxious to be loosened, but the knots had been 
too firmly tied for those who had done to wi<\o them, so 
we suggested asking the spirits to free him, to which they 



1 6 EVENINGS AT HOME 

agreed, and when the light was extinguished, did so in 
a few moments. We again lighted the candle, and Mr. 
Guppy placing his coat on the table, requested them to 
put it on some one else, and almost as soon as the light 
was put out, Miss Neyland exclaimed " Oh ! they have 
dressed me in it ; " which they absolutely had done, having 
put the coat on her, and then buttoned it. 

The next time I saw Mrs. Guppy, she told me she had 
been experimenting with her Turkish bells, but had found 
it quite impossible to produce the effect of sound that I 
have striven to describe. It might perhaps be that her 
footing was on the ground, and thus the vibrating tones 
would be in a manner entangled with the furniture, instead 
of being in the untroubled space above our heads. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 7 



CHAPTER II. 

Another course was commenced on the 14th of November 
of those pleasant Monday evenings in Harley Street, which 
seem to me to have had a value beyond later attempts else- 
where, from the fact that they were more generally popular, 
and the gatherings were from more universal quarters. 
The larger number of such efforts in the present day may, 
to a certain extent, account for that fact ; some of the 
Spiritualists going one way and some another, whereas 
some have retired from any public demonstration of them- 
selves at all. Is it that they have become lukewarm ? or is 
it simply that they no longer have the energetic and enthu- 
siastic Mr. Coleman to summon them together by beat of 
drum ? It is true that many of the original frequenters of 
those meetings are gone, like himself, to the other side, 
but there still remain many of the dear old faces whom I 
would fain see sometimes at our own rooms in Great 
Russell Street. It may be that the weekly regularity of the 
meetings was one cause of the good attendance, by becoming 
a settled engagement, besides which the subscription to the 
course was at once paid, and it was a something outside of 
the usual round of life. 

I am sorry to say that I kept no notes whatever of any 
of the details, but I remember that papers on the subject 
of Spiritualism were prepared and read by some of our 
friends, leading afterwards to discussion, and I believe it 
was during that series that we heard a very interesting one 
from the Rev. Dr. Davies, entitled " Am I a Spiritualist ? " 
when the evidences he gave made it very easy to answer 
his question in the affirmative. I know, likewise, that Mrs. 
Hardinge again returned to England about that time, and 
she was always a host in herself when she formed one of 
the circle on the platform. 

B 



1 8 EVENINGS AT HOME 

Am la Spiritualist '? What a difficult point to decide, 
even among many who nominally belong to our ranks, of 
whom it might be well if some would restrict themselves 
to the term that has taken such a hold upon a large pro- 
portion of our neighbours on the other side of the Channel, 
and call themselves Spiritists, thus limiting themselves to 
the acknowledgment of intercourse with the dwellers in 
the beyond, whether through the means of physical or 
mental mediumship, without seeking to rise above the level 
of earth's puerilities ; whereas, to be a Spiritualist, appears 
to me to demand the addition of a religious basis, and on 
that ground most of the clergy must all unwittingly be 
allied to us, for their faith is founded entirely upon the 
Spirit intercourse of past ages, and if we can but clearly 
shew them that the past and the present are a portion of 
one unbroken chain, evidencing God's loving care in grant- 
ing each revelation so as to meet the need of its own day, 
surely they will ultimately receive with joy the new truths 
that are coming now, although, like Saul of Tarsus, they 
may in the beginning have rejected them. 

In the June of that year a lady (doubly connected with 
the family) came one Wednesday to see me, accompanied 

by Mr. L , an artist friend, who had thought she spoke 

of impossible things when she had told him about my spirit 
drawings, but the sight of a few soon convinced him that 
they undoubtedly contained a something beyond his pre- 
vious philosophy, and he was both charmed and interested 
with all I had to shew him, so that to such an appreciative 
observer, I had to vary my portfolios far beyond my usual 
wont, so as to give him a glimpse of their growth and 
changes. In the course of conversation he said, " Do you 
ever exchange sketches with other artists ? " " Oh ! never," 
was my rejoinder, and there the matter dropped, and for 
the time passed entirely out of my mind, and I scarcely 
know how long a period may have elapsed when the thought 
came to me in a sudden flash, and I enquired of my wise 
counsellors whether I ought to do such a thing. " Yes, in 
this one case," was the reply I received, but I was not yet 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 1 9 

to take any step in the matter, although they then selected 
the drawing, entitled " The Eye of The Lord," which was 
destined for the purpose. At length I was permitted to 
write to him, alluding to the question he had put to me, 
and saying that if he had intended it as an expression of 
his own wish, I should be happy to comply with it. I 
received an immediate reply from him, dated November 
15, in which he said: "I should have been long before 
this, to renew my acquaintance with you and your wonderful 
spirit drawings, but that I have been out of town all the 
summer, and have since been fully occupied in working up 
my sketches for the winter exhibition. You seemed so 
unwilling to exchange one of your drawings for that of any 
other artist, that I had set aside all thought of it, but I 
shall indeed be delighted to make the exchange, and I 
shall also be very happy if you can come on Monday to 
see those I am going to send to the Gallery on that after- 
noon." I did myself the pleasure of going to see them, 
and on the following Thursday sent him my promised 
drawing, accompanied by the written interpretation, and 
his answer came with speed. 

" Novei?iber 25//?, 1870. — My dear Miss Houghton, — 
I cannot tell you how much I value the wonderful and 
beautiful drawing you sent me yesterday : the subtlety and 
delicacy of both the colour and the design are to me quite 
a study : one is constantly seeing something new in its 
mysterious depths. The little book that you so kindly sent 
with it will require much thought before it can be under- 
stood aright. I am afraid I shall not be able in return to 
send you anything so original as to line and colour, but 
what I shall send you will be, I hope, characteristic of 
Yours very sincerely, L." 

It is only now, while seeking out these dates, and finding 
harmonies all unsuspected in the past events, that I realize 
the above circumstances as in any way connected with the 
letter I received from Mrs. T. on the very evening that I 
had sent off the picture, which was eventually to lead to what 
has hitherto been the most important action in my life. 



20 EVENINGS AT HOME 

On the 22nd of November, to which she alludes, I had 
been to Cambridge Hall, to assist at a public " Welcome " 
to Mrs. Hardinge. 

" November 24th. — My dear Miss Houghton, — I hope 
you reached home safely on Tuesday evening. It is a great 
comfort to know that you are never alone in a life that 
outwardly is so lonely. Last night (Wednesday), at about 
eleven, I had a distinct vision of you sitting at the table in 
your drawing-room, with a company of your spirit friends 
about you. One of them kissed you, and you felt the kiss, 
and you said, 'Yes, my dear, yes, my dear, but I am 
engaged now.' (You seemed to be writing.) Another 
passed his hand over your hair and forehead, and looked 
at you so lovingly ; and then you raised your head, having 
felt the pressure and in a moment your face looked w T hite 
and shining, like those of the spirits, and the change in you 
frightened me so much that I roused myself, and almost 
immediately the clock struck half-past eleven. Those little 
babies were on each side of you, pulling your dress and 
wishing to be noticed, but I do not think you saw them. I 
have thought of you all the morning with some solicitude, 
notwithstanding the care I am sure your spirit friends will 
take of you in any further development of your mediumistic 
powers, or in any events that may arise. Believe me, very 
truly yours, M. E. T." 

At the time thus mentioned, I was engaged, as Mrs. 
T. correctly states, with papers and writing. Preston had 
stood talking until nearly eleven, on her way up to bed, and 
even while she had been with me, I had very strongly felt 
once or twice the signal of my two dear Baby sisters, which 
they afterwards repeated, and upon my questioning them, I 
learned that one object of their being with me was as a 
preparation for my seance on the 2nd of December, but 
they feared they might not, their own two little selves, be 
able to give any manifestation, although they are always 
anxious to try. Other spirits also gave me their signs, 
partly for the same purpose, but they all accepted my 
apology for giving them but a divided attention, as I had 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 2 1 

various letters to write, and other things to do. I think 
it must have been St. John whose touch changed the 
expression of my countenance, for I felt his signal more 
strongly than usual (it is the sensation of a tender hand on 
my brow and head), and. J. had a great feeling of happiness, 
and as if I scarcely knew how to be sufficiently thankful to 
God for all His mercies, I seemed as if my soul wanted to 
burst forth into songs of praise. 

The above is my entry made at the time, but my occupa- 
tion was not only letter-writing, one being to Mr. L , 

but likewise copying the interpretation in the small book, to 
send to him the next day with the picture, and the unseen 
ones knew all that was to eventuate from that circumstance, 
although / did not. 

I had invited Mr. and Mrs. Everitt to be present at my 
forthcoming seance, but at the same time I had asked 
Mrs. Everitt to come on some intervening Wednesday to 
see my drawings and become harmonized into my room, 
as that was a necessary condition before I could be 
allowed to invite any fresh guest into my circle, but she 
would then have to do double duty, she and her hus- 
band being so essentially one that her coming would 
be all-sufficient. This is a rule that the regulators of my 
seances have made from the very beginning, and there 
have been other small details upon which they have per- 
mitted no infringement ; for the sittings in this house 
have been exceptional, — not at all intended as evidences 
for the sceptical, but for the purpose of reaching the 
highest phenomena they could, which can never be 
attained amidst conflicting atmospheres : therefore under 
no circumstances could a complete sceptic or a so-called 
enquirer have been admitted, although the favour has 
often been solicited, and might perhaps have been difficult 
to refuse, but that it is not / who have had to give the 
answer, I have been simply the mouthpiece, and my nay 
has had to be nay, for the yea is instantaneous, if it is to 
be granted at all, thus I am always saved from any feeling 
of doubt as to such matters, which of course must be 



2 2 EVENINGS AT HOME 

under their jurisdiction ; I have sometimes even had to 
refuse dear friends, but I have known there could be no 
appeal against the decision. 

I had the pleasure on the last Wednesday in November 
of a visit from Mrs. Everitt, accompanied by Miss Nisbet, 
which I think we all enjoyed. 

The seance was held on the 2nd of December, dear 
Papa's birthday and also Charlie's, and the circle consisted 
of Mrs. Ramsay, Mrs. T., Mrs. Guppy, Mr. and Mrs. 
Everitt, Mrs. Pearson, Miss Neyland and myself. Before 
the light was extinguished, the table was quite lifted from 
the ground, and gently floated backwards and forwards as 
if in greeting, but was quietly lowered as we commenced 
The Lord's Prayer, to wmich they, as usual, responded 
at the conclusion. Miss Neyland saw Mamma, Clarence, 
and Charlie near me, and when I asked if she saw who 
had touched my hand, she answered, "The young girl," 
meaning Motee, who had been patting the ring. She 
also saw General Ramsay by the side of Mrs. Ramsay, 
and other spirit friends whom she described, near the 
different guests. 

By the alphabet, I was desired to wish for anything I 
liked, so I enquired whether they could bring me Charlie's 
turquoise pin, sunk in the Car?iatic, but as that was out of 
their power, I asked for something from the sea. In a 
short time Mrs. Guppy said she had been touched by a wet 
hand, requesting me to feel the back of her hand, which 
was quite wet, we next heard the fall of something small 
upon the table, and then a shell (five inches by four) was 
placed in my hand, and we were permitted to light the 
candle to examine it. To my surprise it was quite wet, 
and on tasting, I discovered that it was with j-<?^-water. 
The shell is one of those with brilliant mother-of-pearl 
tints, and has been polished by the friction of the waves 
on the sea-shore, also rather cracked and battered by the 
same process, and I have been told that it is of a kind 
that is found on the borders of the Red Sea. What we 
had heard drop was another small shell of a different 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 2$ 

sort, and Miss Neyland had seen Charlie bring them both 
to me. 

At intervals during the evening we all saw spirit lights, 
like small stars. 

We heard the spirits busily occupied with the pencils 
and sheets of paper, and there were presently unmistakable 
sounds that they were drawing. By raps they then spelt 
out, "We will finish afterwards," and they allowed us to 
have a light to see what had been done. On the lower 
part of the sheet of paper is a slight sketch of me, with my 
hands upraised in prayer (the same attitude in which they 
had represented me in a direct drawing they had executed 
for me about two years and a half ago), two winged spirits, 
in profile, are floating above me, one of whom has both 
hands pointing upwards, but the other is bending towards 
me with the two hands just over my head, and there is a 
light flufflness of some kind that I cannot at all make out, 
the sketch being so very faint and slight. While we were 
all eagerly looking at the drawing, Mrs. T. told me that 
in the second figure she recognised the face of the spirit 
whom she had seen with me, in the vision she had had ten 
days before, and whose touch had so transfigured me that 
it had startled her. There was some red colour used in 
the drawing, besides the lead pencil, which said colour the 
invisible artists must have themselves provided, as there 
was nothing of the kind on the table. 

When we had put out the light, they recommenced work, 
and we sang the Evening Hymn, for which I had had 
previous directions. , When next we were allowed to look 
at the drawing, a third figure in full-face, and also winged, 
had been added above the other two, and the drawing was 
altogether more worked upon. I asked if they would, in 
the course of the evening, give some interpretation of its 
meaning, to which they at once consented. There were 
now sounds as if pieces of paper were being gently torn, 
and then came the message, " Put the drawing away." 
They had torn a triangular piece from each of its four 
corners, which pieces (not quite equal in size) they had 



24 EVENINGS AT HOME 

distributed severally to Mrs. Ramsay, Mrs. T., Mrs. Guppy 
and myself, who were seated together, signifying thereby 
that we each possessed a portion of the direct-drawing 
mediumship. 

We next heard some writing being done, and it proved 
to be a message from Papa to Mrs. Ramsay, but it was 
written in separate letters downwards, forming two 
columns : " My dear Madam, I love you. God bless you." 
Another hand was now busy, and it was curious in the 
darkness to note the difference of sound, characteristic 
of the various productions \ those we now heard were 
evidently long, bold strokes ; and the result was a very 
rough outline of a rock, a vessel, and waves : — a com- 
panion sketch was then done of a rock and some waves, 
and below them the word " Charley ! " By raps we were then 
told to " Go, refresh." So we adjourned to the next room 
for the purpose, but before we returned here, Mr. Everitt 
suggested that for Mrs. Everitt's manifestations it might 
be necessary to make some re-arrangement of the sitters, 
which was done according to the directions he received 
after we were again seated. 

We were then told by the alphabet, " Read Ezekiel, 8th 
chapter, 3rd verse :" " And he put forth the form of an hand, 
and took me by a lock of mine head ; and the Spirit lifted 
me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me 
in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner 
gate that looketh towards the north." We were then 
directed to Ezekiel, nth chapter, 1st verse: "Moreover 
the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate 
of The Lord's house, which looketh eastward : and behold 
at the door of the gate five-and-twenty men ; among whom 
I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of 
Benaiah, princes of the people." And finally to Acts, 2nd 
chapter, first four verses : "And when the day of Pentecost 
was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a 
rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they 
were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 25 

like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they 
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with 
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." 

The verses from Ezekiel gave the promised interpretation 
of the drawing, which is yet more significant from Mrs. 
T.'s previous vision, and my corroboration of it, which 
prove that the spirit who with his tender hand is leading 
me upwards to the New Jerusalem is St. John, who in the 
Apocalypse was permitted to describe it. 

We received an injunction to " Pray," and in answer to 
our enquiries Mr. Everitt was selected to offer up a petition 
for us, which he did with much fervour. 

We then sang another hymn. Delicious wafts of perfume 
were shed upon us. The tubes were lifted about, and 
efforts were made to speak, but the whispers were too faint 
for us to distinguish words. Mrs. Ramsay felt her spirit 
friends busy among the things in her pocket, some of 
which were taken out, and her spectacles were removed 
from the case, but with great care, so as not to disturb the 
triangular piece of paper, which she had laid there. After 
a time, the spectacles were restored to their place ; but the 
manifestation had reference to a similar occurrence, when 
General Ramsay (who now did it) had, shortly after his 
entrance into the spirit world, treated in a somewhat similar 
manner the spectacles of Mrs. Ramsay's cousin, Colonel 
Burlton, who within the last two or three weeks has like- 
wise passed away. Mrs. Ramsay's handkerchief, knotted 
up, was brought back to her, and Mrs. Guppy exclaimed 
that they had brought her something which, although not 
alive, felt almost like a little mouse, it was so soft and 
tender, but Mrs. Ramsay thought it was her glove, which 
had been taken from her, and when we had the light we 
found it was so, and that they had so knotted and twisted 
it that they had formed it into the likeness of a little black 
rabbit, the ears being made of the finger-tips, with the two 
buttons for eyes, and there was a glimpse below of two tiny 
feet. Mrs. Guppy regretted that she should have to give it 
up, for she says the spirits never bring anything for her; but 



26 EVENINGS AT HOME 

Mrs. Ramsay told her that of course she must keep it, as it 
had been given to her. Mrs. Ramsay's handkerchief had 
been tied so as to form a well-proportioned figure of the 
Cross. 

Directions were then given that Mrs. Guppy and Miss 
Neyland should leave the circle, and take seats on opposite 
sides of the fire-place ; and the moment they were seated, 
the light was extinguished by the spirits. We enquired if 
they were comfortable, but no answer whatever was returned, 
for in that same instant they had both become entranced. 
In a short time, without our having heard any sound Of 
footsteps, I felt Mrs. Guppy place her arm round me, and, 
influenced by my Charlie, utter the words : " Dearest 
Auntie, I am here ; I am not drowned." After a little 
more conversation, she was in the same way led to Mrs. 
Ramsay, under the General's influence ; then to Mrs. 
Pearson by her mother, also to Mr. Everitt. Then to 
Mrs. T., who had a communication from a relative lately 
deceased, and for whom a message had been given her 
through herself by his son's spirit, which message he had 
never received, as it had been returned to her through the 
post-office from America ; but he said he could now read 
the message where it had been given, and he thanked her 
for her anxiety to have helped him in his need, although he 
had not himself understood it. Mrs. Everitt was told by 
one of her spirit friends that she had not followed some 
directions that had been given her, but that she ought 
always to heed the advice from the unseen world. She 
could not at first remember what was alluded to, but after- 
wards she did, and acknowledged that it would have been 
wiser to have followed it. Mrs. Guppy then returned to 
her place, and Miss Neyland was heard speaking to some 
spirits whom she saw (observing that there were seven of 
them), but she did not say much, and we did not like to 
question her, as her trance seemed so deep. I now felt 
something being passed over my head into my hands, and 
I immediately discovered that it was Papa's picture, which 
he had brought to me from its place on the wall, as if to 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 27 

intimate that he wished to return thanks in person for our 
having kept his birthday. 

Just then Mrs. Guppy awoke, and was surprised to learn 
that Miss Neyland was entranced, and still more so that it 
had been the case with herself. "But where are my boots?" 
she exclaimed, and then it appeared that they had vanished 
from off her feet, which accounted for the noiselessness of 
her movements. 

Mrs. Everitt was now in a trance, and John Watt, who 
is the controlling spirit of her circle, made his voice heard 
through one of the tubes, which he carried to the ceiling, 
saying that "he could not stay long, having had much 
difficulty in entering, because the power here was so great ; 
but he hoped to come again on some future occasion, with 
the same circle, when he might be able to hold a longer 
conversation, and he would wish then to bring a friend 
with him, through whose agency we might have a com- 
pletely new manifestation." I therefore at once invited 
Mr. and Mrs. Everitt to join my circle on New Year's Eve, 
when I purpose holding a seance to commemorate the 
completion of eleven years of my mediumship, and John 
Watt, after a few courteous words to each, took his leave. 
We lighted the candle, and shortly afterwards one of Mrs. 
Guppy's boots fell with much clatter, apparently from the 
ceiling, in the corner of the room near the door, at the 
farthest possible distance from us, and while we were still 
talking about it, the other fell down just behind her. 

Miss Neyland gradually roused, but Mrs. Everitt still 
continued entranced, and commenced mesmerising Mrs. 
Tebb, who had been suffering so severely from toothache 
that she had feared it would be impossible for her to come. 
She then came towards Mrs. Ramsay, but in passing gave 
me a warm shake of the hand, so I imagined she was pro- 
bably under the influence of one of my own friends. She 
mesmerised Mrs. Ramsay's foot, which was in great pain, 
for some time, and Mrs. Ramsay, who experienced decided 
relief, asked if she knew who was controlling her, when 
Mr. Everitt suggested that she should be asked to remember 



28 EVENINGS AT HOME 

on her restoration to her normal state, who it was that had 
been influencing her. She then returned to the table, 
where she appeared to be seeking paper and pencil, which 
I gave her, when she wrote, " Warm water bath every four 
hours, with gentle rubbing. — Mesmer." 

When she came to herself, Mr. Everitt asked whom 
she had seen influencing her, and she said it was the 
same doctor she had seen several times before ; rather a 
fair man, of middle height. He had never hitherto given 
his name, which she thus learned through his signature, 
and he is indeed an old friend of mine, having been so 
strongly linked to me by my having twice drawn his 
spirit-flower. 

The account of that seance seems to terminate in a very 
unfinished way, but I did not wish to make it too long, as 
I wrote it out for publication in the first number of the 
Christian Spiritualist, a new monthly periodical that was 
to make its start in 187 1, the editor of which was the Rev. 
F. R. Young, who had solicited contributions from me 
whenever I could send anything of interest, and I was quite 
willing to accede to his request, being exceedingly rejoiced 
at the issue of a paper belonging to our cause that should 
stand on a completely religious basis. 

At the meeting in Harley Street on November 28th, Mrs. 
Guppy, who was seated by my side, told me that she now 
frequently hears spiritual music, which is audible to others 
as well as to herself, and that while she had been dressing 
to come out, both she and Miss Neyland had heard quite 
a melody played. 

There was a slight pause soon after Mr. Dove had com- 
menced reading his paper, occasioned by Mr. Coleman 
leaving his place on the platform to escort Mrs. Hardinge 
and her party into the room, and just at that moment there 
was a sound, exactly between Mrs. Guppy and my^lf, as 
if a full, sweet-toned bell had been struck. I mentally 
asked our spirit friends if they would repeat it, which they 
said they would, but not while Mr. Dove was reading : by 
and bye he stopped, to move across the platform for the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 2 

purpose of explaining a diagram he had there, and immedi- 
ately the same sweet sound was heard, only there were two 
successive strokes instead of one ; and when Mr. Dove had 
quite finished, we heard it thrice. 

I now received permission from my friends to invite Mr. 
L. to come and be present some day while I was engaged 
on my artistic work. He was highly delighted with the 
privilege to be accorded to him, and we appointed the 13th 
of December, when I had an opportunity of shewing him 
three distinct stages of work, each of which seemed to fill 
him with more and more astonishment. I had two draw- 
ings in progress, and began upon the one that was nearly 
finished, so he watched with deep interest the fine lines 
that went on so smoothly and so unerringly under my hand, 
never failing to reach exactly their purposed destination, 
notwithstanding that I was fully engaged in conversation 
with him all the time ; and there would be sudden, changes 
of detail, and methods qf manipulation, which clearly did 
not require my mind to be concentrated upon them, which 
must have been the case h^d self been the operator, even 
supposing the possibility o,f my powers being equal to such 
perfect work. I next took out the one that was perhaps 
about half through, when he marvelled indeed at the 
wondrous effects of colour that were produced, and learned 
to realize the immensity of labour bestowed upon each 
drawing, acknowledging that it would baffle any merely 
human artist to produce such harmonies, for they could 
only be achieved by work upon work, seemingly much of it 
to be obliterated, but nevertheless leaving its record and its 
subtle tints to penetrate through the after designs. It 
certainly was refreshing to my ears to hear his rapturous 
exclamations of delight as some new beauty was suddenly 
revealed from, as it were, the undercurrent of the earlier 
labour; and his intense sympathy prevented his being in 
any way a hindrance, as some on-lookers are. 1 was going 
to do Mrs. Guppy's Monogram, as a gift of love to her, 
which drawing was to be commenced on that day, and it 
was expressly that he might see it begun that I had been 



30 EVENINGS AT HOME 

allowed to invite him, for an artist well knows that quiet 
study is usually needed as a preliminary adjunct of a new 
picture, but I got out the fresh block, telling him that of 
course I knew the letters were to be E. G., but that as 
to form or colour I was absolutely ignorant. Only a 
momentary consultation on that latter point was requisite 
with my invisible helpers, so momentary indeed that to 
him it was imperceptible, and the work was at once started, 
again and again to call forth ejaculations of wonder and 
delight, and although so much time had been bestowed 
upon the two previous specimens, this one had already 
become quite a pretty picture before he went away. 

In the course of our talk he said, — what all artists have 
invariably said, — "Why do you not exhibit?" So I told 
him my main reason — that the religious symbolism would 
be out of place in a heterogeneous collection, and that my 
Royal Monograms had not been admitted by the Academy. — 
" Oh ! " said he, " that is not what I mean : — why not have 
an Exhibition of your own ? " — Of my own ! ! ! what a be- 
wildering thought : — of course it was quite impossible, even 
if such an idea could enter my brain : — I, in my lonely life, 
a weak woman, with none to help me in an undertaking of 
such magnitude : — the very notion of such a thing seemed 
an utter incongruity, and I could only point out to him that 
I should not even have an idea how to take the very first step 
towards such an attempt, or as to what ought to be the first 
step. Oh ! as to the business management, he would only 
be too happy to put me in the way of it if I could entertain 
the idea ; and as I had given him a ticket of admission to 
Harley Street for the following Monday, I might then talk 
with him on the subject, and his farewell words were, 
" Think of it." 

I did think of it ! for, much to my surprise, when I 
appealed to my counsellors, the instantaneous response was 
that it was to be : and surely I had food for thought that 
evening. I considered every item that would enter into 
such an undertaking, and I do not believe that any single 
requisite was omitted in my cogitations as to what it would 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 3 1 

entail. I could of course make no estimate as to probable 
expense, but that must be left to the future ; it was to be. 
He greeted me eagerly on the Monday night, questioning 
me as to my decision, which he was delighted to hear was 
in accordance with his suggestion, and he promised at once 
to speak to a gentleman whose professional services might 
perhaps be retained ; so the mighty effort was thus put in 
train ! It is only now, while writing the history of the 
kindling of that small spark, that it strikes me as an 
evidence to outsiders as to the reality of the help granted 
by unseen intelligences, for if my artistic work had ema- 
nated simply from my own brain, that must assuredly have 
been quite incapacitated by the agitation into which my 
mind would naturally have been thrown by the first broach- 
ing of so momentous a subject, and I must e'en have folded 
my hands for awhile, so as to collect my thoughts before 
resuming, my brush. 



32 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER III. 

I had heard of a seance at which Mrs. Guppy had been 
present, where ice. had been brought by the spirits, and 
while making all my furniture arrangements on the morning 
of the 31st of December, for our evening celebration of the 
completion of my eleventh year of mediumship, I implored 
the invisibles not to bring any here, for I dreaded lest 
everything should be reduced to a state of wet untidiness, 
and my usual provision consisted of a plentiful supply of 
sheets of paper, a tray of pencils, eight tubes, the porcelain 
slate, a box of vestas, a candle, and any other odds and 
ends that might be suggested at the time. Our circle was 
but a small one, composed of Mrs, Ramsay, Mrs. T., Mrs. 
Guppy, Mrs. Pearson, Miss Neyland and myself. 

The weather was intensely cold, so I had kept up good 
fires all day in both rooms, and did not take off the one in 
this room in which we were to sit until after we had had 
tea and coffee and had thoroughly warmed ourselves, and 
we also had hot-water bottles for our feet, so as to avoid 
the possibility of our getting chilled. 

Shortly after we had said The Lord's Prayer, we saw 
some glimmering lights, and then a lovely sparkling one, 
which rose up spirally until it was just above the level of 
our heads, where it gradually faded away. We then heard 
the spirits making a great commotion among the things on 
the table, and throwing the tubes, sheets of paper, &c, on 
the ground, but carefully placing the drawing-block on my 
lap. Sprays of holly were brought to some of the circle, 
and then there was an exclamation that there was some- 
thing cold and wet, and I must own to having made an 
ejaculation of dismay, for I was convinced that it was the 
ice that I had foreboded, and I implored leave to light the 
candle, which was immediately granted, when we found a 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 33 

quantity of snow-covered ice on the table ; so I rang for a 
large dish in which to put it, and while we were removing it, 
we were all struck with the care the spirits had taken in first 
clearing the table of all that was upon it, so that nothing 
should be damaged by the moisture, and we speedily wiped 
away all vestiges of it from the table itself. When we were 
again settled, this message was spelt, " The water was from 
the river Jordan." 

Miss Neyland presently said she saw Mamma, Papa, my 
brother Clarence, and Charlie, but she was surprised to 
notice that Charlie no longer had the water dripping from 
him, as he always had had when she had seen him before, 
which corroborated an impression I had received on the 
29th after reading the first number of the Christian Spirit- 
ualist, containing the account of our last seance on Charlie's 
birthday ; which was that Charlie would not again bring 
with him any symbolism of the wreck, for reference had 
been made to it in the first number of each of the four new 
Spiritualist periodicals, viz., the Spiritualist, the Medium, the 
Spiritual News, and the Christian Spiritualist, and strange 
to say, on the very day of the seance, in the January number 
of tjie Spiritual Magazine, under the title of " Represen- 
tation of a wreck at sea," appeared that portion of the 
account I had written for the Spiritual News of the seance 
held at Mrs. Guppy's, so it seemed that the event was 
meant to be brought in every way prominently before the 
public eye, and that it might then rest. Miss Neyland also 
saw Motee and General Ramsay, accompanied by many 
Indians. She also described Mrs. Pearson's sister to her, 
and on being asked for the name, she saw a C and then 
Mole. 

Mrs. T. now became somewhat distressed, and seemed 
compelled to mention that she saw the figure of a man be- 
hind Mrs. Guppy, weeping very much j his face was partly 
hidden by a cloak, but he looked old although his hair 
was black. She was unwilling to say more, but the words 
appeared to be forced from her that " his trouble was about 
Mrs. Guppy's little boy, who was threatened with an attack 

c 



34 EVENINGS AT HOME 

of the throat, when an immediate remedy must be applied, 
which was to be a cold compress of some of the ice water 
that had been brought from the Jordan, and that the spirits 
would aid in drawing immediate attention to the attack." 
Of course poor Mrs. Guppy was much troubled, and told 
us that although so healthy a child, he had once had a 
seizure that had seemed to stop his breathing, when she 
instantly sat to the table to consult the spirits, who ordered 
mustard poultices on throat and chest, which speedily 
relieved him. That must have been croup, which was what 
I had feared from Mrs. T.'s account. By the alphabet 
Mrs. Guppy was then desired to leave the room, and by 
questioning we found that she was to absent herself for five 
minutes, so as to get over the shock that it had been to 
her nerves. We then heard more distinctly a sound that 
had been going on for some little time, as of a person pass- 
ing with heavy tread round the room, and when Mrs. Guppy 
came back, Mrs. T. said the sounds were exactly similar 
to those she had heard in her childhood ("Yes," from the 
invisibles) ; and she gave the history she had narrated to me 
in one of our tete-a-tete seances, of the footsteps that had 
been continually heard going round the home of her child- 
hood, an isolated house, every means having been ineffec- 
tually taken to find out the cause. The ground might 
perhaps be covered with deep snow when the foot-falls 
would be heard, and two of the inmates would go forth to 
investigate, one turning towards the right, and one to the 
left, no sign being visible on the fleecy whiteness ; and they 
would meet midway in the round of the house, without 
having encountered any mortal form, while the sound came 
just as steadily to the ears of those within the dwelling : or 
in a clear summer night the footsteps would be heard, but 
still the bright moon-beams would reveal no human appear- 
ance. It was finally supposed to indicate the presence of 
the unquiet spirit of a young man who had quarrelled with 
his father, and left his home when about one and twenty 
years of age, and who had never returned : she gave some 
further particulars, but even when she had ceased, the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 35 

tramp — tramp — tramp — still continued that we had heard 
throughout her narrative. 

We were then told to break up the seance ; and on our 
return from supper, Queen Elizabeth announced her pre- 
sence, and had some conversation with Mrs. Ramsay. It 
was curious to note the imperious and decisive manner in 
which the responsive raps were given, one of the tubes 
being used for the purpose, and once, when a communi- 
cation was being spelt out, as I continued to repeat the 
alphabet, not being quite sure that the message was con- 
cluded, the tube was applied to my lips so as to stop my 
speech, and not in the gentlest of manners, but still not 
roughly enough to hurt. It suddenly occurred to Mrs. 
Ramsay that she must have come for some special purpose, 
and enquired if her visit referred to something she had 
found that morning. "Yes." [Can you tell me to whom 
it belonged?] "Sarah Marlborough." Mrs. Ramsay then 
told us that it was a valuable antique fan, which she had 
discovered in one of her receptacles for by-gone treasures. 
It was very carefully done up, but there was no clue by 
which they could ascertain the original possessor, but it 
seemed of about the period referred to, and it doubtless 
had belonged to the famous Duchess. 

I forgot to mention that in the earlier part of the evening, 
just after Mrs. Guppy's return to the room, we were sprinkled 
with a very delicious almond perfume. Fragments of orange 
peel were now distributed among us, and then pieces of 
orange, divided without having been cut, and Motee rapped 
the message, "For my darling Mamma," and upon Mrs. 
Ramsay enquiring the meaning, she answered "Cough," 
so Mrs. Ramsay promised to take oranges for her cough, 
which was very troublesome, but Motee also ordered her a 
compress of the Jordan water ice, and before they left, I 
had it put into four wide-necked bottles, for them to take 
home with them. 

All this time, we still heard the tramp, tramp, of the foot- 
steps, which sounded sadly solemn. We were then told to 
" Read a chapter : — 8th of Romans : " — which we did. We 



36 EVENINGS AT HOME 

were next directed to St. John, 14th chapter, part of last 
verse; "But that the world may know that I love the 
Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so 
I do." We were desired still to retain the light, and Mrs. 
T. passed under influence, so I took the porcelain slate, 
and wrote down what she said, but as it was afterwards 
partially effaced, I can only remember that it referred to 
the spirit she had been telling us about, "who had com- 
mitted suicide, but not in the manner supposed, for he 
had cut his throat, but that his walking would cease from 
that night." At the very instant that I put out the candle, 
the slate was taken from before me, and we heard sounds 
of its being written upon in the air, at about the height of 
our heads. It was put back upon the table, and when we 
had struck a light, we found written upon it : 
elbuort llahs I 
you no more : 
which meant " I shall trouble you no more ; " the first 
words of the sentence having been spelt backwards. He 
had likewise rubbed out a considerable portion of the 
trance communication, I suppose to symbolise that his sin 
of self-destruction was thus obliterated ; but in it I know 
that we had been given to understand that he had had to 
walk (probably at especial times and seasons) for nearly 
the number of years to which his life ought naturally to 
have extended, but that he had gained help in that respect 
by having been admitted to our seance, and I have no 
doubt that our conversation about him some time before 
might have contributed the needful elements for his coming. 
Suddenly we heard the box of vesta matches fall to the 
ground, and I put out my hand to feel for the little table, 
but it had vanished from my side. By groping on the 
floor I found the box of matches, and obtained leave to 
light one, when we discovered that the small table had 
been placed face downwards upon the larger one, and the 
candle on the under side of the small table, but we were 
allowed to replace them as before. I then fetched some 
small pieces of card that I had been desired to prepare, and 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 37 

as soon as the light was extinguished we heard the spirits 
at work with the pencils, and the symbolical Eye was 
drawn upon the block and two of the cards, after which 
" Good-night " was spelt and our seance was brought to a 
close. 

On the previous Monday week, in Harley Street, Mrs. 
T. had put me in a kind of maze, by a query as to what I 
might do if I had four or five little golden pieces to spend 
upon some indulgence, such as a something in the shape 
of lace or other embellishment. At first I thought she was 
jesting, but she told me to consider of it seriously, and on 
my way home it flashed upon me that I might possibly 
thus obtain an inlaid cabinet, that I had seen a couple of 
years before in a shop near me, and had set my heart upon 
as a future possession, to hold my books upon Spiritualism 
and various articles that had to be banished from this room, 
being no place wherein to bestow them : so I wrote the 
next morning to tell her of what had seemed to me a vain 
longing, which had been lately roused into fresh vigour, 
for the cabinet, which had retired to the back of the shop, 
had been brought forward again only a few days previously. 
She begged me at once to make the purchase, and hoped 
I might have it in time for the 31st ; but I was to say nothing 
about it until after the conclusion of the seance. I puzzled 
my brains most ineffectually as to who could be the liberal 
donor, but my pretty walnut-wood treasure-case graced the 
room at the appointed time, and when the seance was over, 
I got up to shew it to my assembled friends, and to expa- 
tiate upon its beauty and its usefulness, and also the enigma 
that it was to me ; when Mrs. Ramsay gave me a little 
purse-bag containing a cheque, and in tender loving terms 
told me that it was the joint gift of some who were united 
with me in the bonds of spiritual friendship, as a memorial 
of pleasant evenings spent here together in communion 
with the unseen world : mentioning at the same time who 
had been the contributors. I cannot here say how much 
I was touched, and how grateful I am to them for all their 
loving kindness. The gift has indeed been a most valuable 



38 EVENINGS AT HOME 

one to me, and has become a complete store-house of 
spiritual curiosities. 

I copy the following letter from the Spiritual Magazine : — 
" 20 Rochester Road, January 17, 1871. — My dear Friend, 
— You have asked me to give you some account of the 
snow manifestation which I witnessed, through the medium- 
ship of Mrs. Guppy on New Year's Eve. 

"We met at Miss Houghton's, 20 Delamere Crescent, 
for the seance at seven, and Mrs. Guppy, Miss Neyland, 
and myself arrived punctually at that time. We were in 
the cloak-room together, and afterwards went up to the 
drawing-rooms, in which there were good fires. After the 
arrival of the other guests, refreshments were passed, and 
the circle was formed, as nearly as I can now recollect, 
at about a quarter to eight. Just previous to this time, the 
fire had been removed from the front drawing-room in 
which we were to sit, and the doors communicating with 
the back room, where a good fire remained, were closed. 
Three stone bottles containing hot water were so arranged 
as to keep our feet warm ; and a number of paper tubes, 
drawing-paper, &c, were placed upon the table. The 
lights were now extinguished, and Miss Houghton opened 
the seance with The Lord's Prayer. Very soon there 
were movements of the table, and communications were 
spelt out by raps in the usual way. We were still engaged 
in conversation with our invisible friends, when a sudden 
and violent motion among the tubes startled us, and a 
quantity of snow and ice came down upon the table. We 
had the light at once, and found that although such a large 
quantity had fallen, there was none upon the carpet, or in 
any other part of the room. The lumps of ice were irre- 
gular in size, but the smallest must have weighed more than 
half a pound, and they were literally buried in snow. I 
noticed that the snow had the peculiarities of newly-fallen 
snow, and for a moment distinct feathery flakes could be 
seen, but the warmth of the room soon changed this 
appearance. 

" I have given you the circumstances attending this 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE, 39 

wonderful manifestation ; and have, in conclusion, to 
remind you that Mrs. Guppy had been in warm rooms 
about an hour before the snow was produced. I remain, 
dear sir, very truly yours, Mary E. T." 

In the editor's note, alluding also to another report there 
given of a somewhat similar event in Mrs. Guppy's own 
house, he says : " We especially invite attention to these 
manifestations, as we think they effectually preclude all 
possibility of imposture : our readers can judge for them- 
selves as to the possibility of concealing snow and ice in 
comfortable well-warmed rooms, and under the circum- 
stances here described. Nor do we see how they can be 
satisfactorily accounted for on any principles of purely 
physical science. If any scientist can inform us as to the 
physical laws which are adequate to these productions, we 
shall be glad to be enlightened on the point." 

I went to a seance at Mrs. Guppy's on the 8th of 
January, of which I have kept no details, but she then 
told me of dear little Tommy's threatened attack of croup, 
which had taken place as prophesied, only a night or two 
after she had been with us. It had been exceedingly 
sudden and severe ; and she thought it must certainly 
have proved fatal if she had not had the remedy within 
immediate reach, which restored him when it had seemed 
as if all power of breathing had entirely left him. She had 
borne up wonderfully while her attention was engrossed 
with his needs, but was completely prostrated when the 
deepest anxiety was over and she found that her child's 
life was spared to her, and she was herself really ill during 
all the ensuing day. She told me she was going to have 
a seance to celebrate her birthday, January 22nd, when she 
proposed having rather a large gathering, for she had many 
petitioners among those who attended the Harley Street 
reunions. 

I think there must have been about three dozen. Mrs. 
Chevalier called here, so as to accompany me, and pleaded 
for permission to be allowed to sit next to me in the seance, 
which was granted to her by the invisible ones, and in the 



40 , EVENINGS AT HOME 

course of the evening, several of the manifestations (among 
them a direct drawing) were for her. There were two 
other sketches done, one being that of a dove. Also a 
stray pigeon of Miss Neyland's was brought back to her, 
and Mr. Guppy jokingly said it would be a very desirable 
thing if we could all be converted into doves. As we sat 
in the darkness, we had a feeling as if something very light 
indeed were falling upon us, coming down gently, gently, 
just like noiseless snow ; and we all began wondering what 
it could be, for it was so tender that it almost seemed to 
elude our grasp ; but at last we clearly made out that it 
was small downy feathers, and the weightless shower con- 
tinued for some space of time, when " Light " was spelt, 
and we found ourselves all deeply sprinkled with down, 
which was also upon the table, — on the floor, — where I 
think it lay about a couple of inches, — under the table, and 
even in some degree under the chairs on which we were 
sitting ! ! It appeared as if the shower had come as equally, 
and had permeated every crevice as subtly .as snow itself 
would have done. At first it created much laughter and 
amusement, but fancy the state of men's woollen coats, to 
which the small particles so clingingly adhered : — then the 
hair ! the velvet dresses ! oh ! dear, it was a fluffy manifesta- 
tion, and one not easily to be forgotten. The servant was 
summoned to do her utmost to rid the floor of some portion 
of it, for every movement raised fresh clouds, and a voyage 
of discovery was meanwhile- made to the upper regions to 
ascertain if possible from whence the plumy downfall had 
come, and there we found the einfity case of what had that 
morning been a feather-bed ! 

The guests were somewhat smothered, but the labour 
afterwards entailed upon the hosts and their assistants in 
clearing the house was something tremendous, and it was 
long before all vestiges of the birthday fete were absolutely 
removed. There was a great comparing of notes the next 
evening in Harley Street as to the state of our hair and 
attire, and we laughed over the many lamentations we had 
each excited on our return to our own homes, for that had 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 4 1 

been a snow-storm that would not melt away of its own 
accord. 

I had had some little correspondence with my artist 
friend, Mr. L., who was making all kinds of enquiries on 
my behalf, and on the 27th he came for a long talk on the 
subject of the Exhibition, when he told me that he had had 
one or two interviews with Mr. McNair, the secretary of the 
society of artists who hold the Dudley Gallery, Egyptian 
Hall, Piccadilly, and that he seemed willing to undertake 
the management, and would fully understand all the busi- 
ness details that would be necessary, but that of course I 
must myself see him on the matter, so that he might be 
quite clear as to all that was wished and intended. There 
would, however, be no necessity for me to make any pre- 
liminary appointment, as I should be sure to find him at 
his post during the hours that the gallery would be open. 
I also consulted with Mr. L. as to what plan would be the 
best and cheapest for having the pictures framed, for, how- 
ever economically it might be managed that would be sure 
to be a heavy item, and the amount of expense must 
necessarily in some degree influence the number of pictures 
to be shewn. He thought it possible that I might some- 
where be able to hire frames, and he would make enquiries 
about it ; but he afterwards found that it could not be done. 
He said he thought the grand difficulty would be to obtain 
a suitable gallery. I wished to have it in a good place, and 
at the best possible season, as I felt that perfection in all 
points must be aimed at in everything that was to be done 
for Spiritualism. He glanced through my portfolios with 
fresh delight, and warmly anticipated the pleasure of looking 
long and often upon them when on public view. 

Mrs. T. came to me on Friday, February 3rd. I 
mesmerised her, and she passed into trance, but as she 
continued silent, I enquired whether, she saw anything, and 
she slowly answered, "February 22nd, 1871. ... It is 
written on everything I can see : there is a mark after the 
22 like a very old-fashioned d, just over it. Mrs Houghton 
is here, she points to that mark." [May I ask if she can 



42 EVENINGS AT HOME 

give us any explanation of it ?] " I can't get any meaning, 
but the numbers have multiplied : they hang on a tree, 
written on strips of something like parchment as long as 
this (extending her hands about nine inches), February 
22d, 1871." [I suppose we shall learn in time what it 
means.] " Yes. . . . They will leave the tree in that 
corner (pointing to the portfolio stand) ; it is like a fir tree, 
and it has an especial significance connected with the 
drawings. The tree will remain there during the seance." 
(The seance here alluded to is one that I propose holding 
on the 14th instant.) 

After a short pause, she suddenly awoke with a start, 
and said, " I was just watching some oranges grow on a 
tree, and in great numbers, but they seemed to change ; 
they were first green and then yellow, and I think I got 
frightened, they grew so fast." 

After a little conversation I again mesmerised her, and 
she once more became completely entranced, but seemed 
unable to speak, and pointed to her throat, which I 
mesmerised for some time, when with difficulty she said, 
" It is like — it is like my breath going, — it is like a prayer 
said over and over — ' O Lord ! let me depart in peace if 
my work here is done. Thy Will, not mine be done, O 
Lord ; let me depart in peace if my work is finished. Thy 
Will, not mine — not mine, O Lord ! be done — Oh ! Oh ! 
The Lord loveth whom He chasteneth ' (gasps as if for 
breath) ; there's such a silence now." [Who is it, dear ?] 
" It is poor — I am trying to see ; — it is a bed, and it is 
poor Mr. Spear, — and there are so many spirits. His wife 
can't have it, and she is begging his life all the time : — she 
can't say, Thy Will be done, and until she says it, he can't 
go. She is praying for help to nurse him back into life, 
praying, oh ! so earnestly ; she says, ' All my friends, every- 
where, think of me, and help me to beg for this one life.' — 
There's such a silence : — the bed is so low, she throws 
herself on it with her arms up." 

Her voice and manner of speaking now changed, and 
she said, " His work is not done yet, but that dear good 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 43 

woman must learn this lesson, to submit to the Will of 
The Lord: she will have to learn that lesson through 
suffering. " Mrs. T. now opened her eyes, and said, 
" Mrs. Houghton has been talking to me, dear Mrs. 
Houghton ; she is sitting close to me, and has something 
like a knitting needle in her hand : she is still talking, 
but I can't hear, I only hear the sound as of a voice. . . I 
have a feeling as though I had seen poor Mr. Spear die, 
and then come to life again : he will still carry on his 
work : . . there is some one repeating constantly, ' Thy 
Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' " 

We talked over together what had passed, — and 
wondered. . . We had known some little time before that 
Mr. Spear was far from well, and we decided that I should 
send a copy of the communication to Mrs. Spear, and when, 
in final course, her answer came to me, she said it was 
much as the circumstances had really taken place . . . Mr. 
Spear had used to tell us that a monition had been given 
him, many years previously, of the probable period of his 
death, although he did not reveal the date to us, but I have 
since learned that the illness in question took place at that 
specified term, and he considers that these later years have 
been as a granted boon. 

In the course of the following week I paid my visit to 
Mr. McNair, and had a very practical talk with him, con- 
vincing him that although a Spiritualist and a woman, my 
head was clear and rapid as to business details, and that I 
had no difficulty in speedily deciding as to what I should, 
or should not like. He had already been in quest of 
galleries to let, and told me of two or three, giving me some 
particulars of each, but the most suitable as to size and 
situation appeared to be one in Old Bond Street, which 
however needed some considerable repairs, and he would 
see whether all could be got ready in time for the private 
view to take place, as I wished, on Saturday the 20th of 
May. He had made a rough estimate as to the probable 
expenses of such an Exhibition, to be open from three to 
four months, so as to include the whole of the London 



44 EVENINGS AT HOME 

season, and said that , they would amount to about ,£300. 
Then there would be the hope of a fair amount of receipts 
for entrances, and also the probable sale of some of the 
pictures. Now that was exactly the amount remaining of 
my Aunt Helen's money, so I knew that I should not be 
undertaking what I had not the means to meet, and could 
therefore do it with a safe conscience, although I must 
confess that I had not contemplated that the outlay would 
be so heavy, besides which I knew there would be many 
other items not included in his calculations, such as the 
frames, the conveyance to and fro, my own necessary 
personal expenditure, &c, &c, &c. However I authorised 
him to proceed with all speed, and to make the best 
negotiations he could for the said gallery, while I would 
go on with my share of the preparations. I had asked 
advice from one or two artist friends on the subject of the 
frames, and from all I heard, it seemed as if I could not do 
better than go to Mr. Spencer in the Harrow Road, who had 
hitherto supplied me with what I needed in that line, and 
upon whom I could depend for upright dealing, so I had 
talked the matter well over with him, and I was expecting 
his statement as to the lowest terms on which he could 
undertake to let to me have the slight gilt frames on which 
I had decided, and I should then be able to determine 
finally upon the number of pictures. His note came to me 
that same evening, agreeing for so much for each frame 
(according to the two different sizes), with the best glass, as 
that is an important consideration with respect to the 
exquisite colouring of the spiritual work ; and that he 
would take them back at half price when the Exhibition 
was over. His terms were so fair and equitable that I made 
up my mind to exhibit the entire contents of my portfolios, 
and also to borrow back from several quarters some of those 
that had gone forth professionally into the world, and thus 
the grand undertaking seemed really to be taking shape. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 45 



CHAPTER IV. 

On the 14th of February, the circle for our seance was 
composed of Mrs. Ramsay, Miss S., Mrs. T., Mrs. 
Pearson, Mr. L., Mrs. Guppy, Miss Neyland and myself. 
Shortly after we had said The Lord's Prayer, the alphabet 
was asked for, and Mamma gave me the following message, 
" My dear daughter, you must wear a coat of many 
colours." I said I had no objection, but that she must 
help me to get it, to which she gave me an affirmative 
answer, but Mrs. Guppy said she did not see how she could 
do so, and I explained that I had only meant that Mamma 
should, when I was buying a dress, let me know which 
she might look upon as fulfilling the suggestion, and we 
were still discussing the subject, when we felt a mass of 
something soft on the table, and then " Light " was spelt, 
and to our surprise we found a quantity of pieces of woollen 
materials of three or four inches in width, some square, and 
some about double the length, but they were of every shade 
and hue ; red, yellow, blue, green, violet, orange, and if they 
can be made into a coat, it will certainly be one of many 
colours. They weigh a pound and a half 

I was told to " Read Matthew, nth chapter," and after- 
wards "Matthew, 2nd chapter, nth verse." We then 
heard the pencil being used for direct drawing, and we 
subsequently found that the spirits had done three separate 
symbols of the Eye of The Lord on the drawing block. 

We were then told to break up for a time, to take supper 
in the adjoining room : it was earlier than usual with us, 
but both Mrs. Guppy and Miss Neyland were poorly, and 
I suppose they were rather exhausted. On our return our 
spirit friends began to be busy with the tubes, and presently 
we heard a voice say, " Dear Georgiana." " Who is it? " I 
enquired, to which the reply was, " Your Mamma : — you 
will wear the coat?" to which I agreed. Miss Neyland 



46 EVENINGS AT HOME 

saw Mamma standing by me while she was speaking. I 
then felt the tube give the signal of my youngest brother, 
who had never hitherto manifested himself at our seances ; 
I mentioned the sign to Mrs. Pearson, who at once knew 
who it must be, and asked him to go to her, as he had 
always been fond of her, and she immediately felt him in 
like manner tap her under the chin with the tube, which re- 
ferred to a well-known habit of his boyhood. I mentioned 
that I had felt his signal very frequently during the last week 
or two, and that he had told me it was in preparation for 
the seance. Miss Neyland said she saw a young man stand- 
ing by me, but she could not see him very clearly. I asked 
her to describe the hair, which she said was light brown 
and curly, and that was exactly the description of Sidney's, 
he then said through the tube, " I am Sidney." She also 
saw Motee and General Ramsay. By the alphabet we 
were then told to "Sing," but there was the difficulty of 
everybody having colds, and also what was to be sung, 
and they spelt out, " Wait for the waggon," — and Mrs. T. 
exclaimed, " Oh ! it is an Indian, and he wants to dance, 
he is standing with one foot raised, ready to start, and 
looks very eager." So a verse of the required song was 
got through, although rather bunglingly, but our Indian 
friend was contented with our good will to oblige him, 
and Mrs. T. said he had his squaw with him, and was 
come for healing purposes. She saw him operating upon 
Mrs. Guppy, and then place a feather in her hair, which 
Mrs. Guppy felt him doing, but then she said, " Oh ! 
now it is gone ; " for he had taken the feather out again, and 
then in an audible voice he said, " I can't spare it." He 
then told us he was the Indian who influenced Mrs. Lacy, 
and with whom, some five years ago when she was in 
England, I had had much friendly communication, and I 
remembered that he had then wished I was his medium 
squaw. " So I do now," was his prompt rejoinder. I 
then enquired about Mrs. Lacy, and he answered, " She is 
not very well." They asked him for some feathers, which 
he declined giving, and Mrs. Ram-say suggested that he 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 47 

should give us some beads, and we soon heard a scattering 
sound as of beads ; but he had broken the thread of one 
row of Miss Neyland's coral necklace, and when she took 
it off, to prevent a further mishap, he took the whole neck- 
lace over to Mrs. Ramsay ; and when we expostulated with 
him, he asked for the alphabet, and rapped out, " Thou 
shalt not wish for another man's goods ; " but Mrs. Ramsay 
explained to him that she had only wanted something that 
was no longer of use to any one. The spilt beads were col- 
lected and restored to Miss Neyland, whose necklace can 
easily be re-threaded. — Mrs. Guppy was then told to go 
away to the sofa, so that she might lie down. I asked Miss 
Neyland if she saw any one near Mr. L., and she replied 
that there was an elderly gentleman standing by him with 
grey hair, not much of it, and Mrs. T. said, " Oh ! it is 
Mr. Spear, and he is looking so earnest and so white." 
Miss Neyland said there was a lady with him, a good deal 
younger than he, with brown hair, but she only saw her 
very indistinctly. We thought that was probably Mrs. 
Spear, and we told of the vision Mrs. T. had had ... I 
had better also mention here, with reference to seeing the 
spirit forms of living persons, that such experience is 
becoming rather frequent, and that Mrs. T. has several 
times both seen and spoken with Mr. Spear ; and that Mrs. 
Spear has three or four times told me during her visits to 
England, that she had been quite conscious of being in my 
drawing-room, when, if I had had the gift of " discerning 
spirits " I should doubtless have seen her. 

By the alphabet was then spelt, "No more darkness." I 
gave paper and pencil to Mrs. Ramsay, and then mesmer- 
ised her for some time, and when she began to draw, I was 
influenced to g6 to Mrs. T., likewise giving her a pencil 
and paper, but before mesmerising her, I was thus spoken 
through. "And He shall give His angels charge over thee, 
to bear thee in their hands." Mrs. Ramsay was drawing 
with great rapidity, sometimes on her own sheet of paper, 
sometimes on the porcelain slate, and likewise on Mrs. 
T.'s piece of paper. Mrs. T. passed under influence, and 



48 EVENINGS AT HOME 

I asked her what she saw, to which she answered, point- 
ing to a kind of palm tree that Mrs. Ramsay was doing on 
the slate, "I see that all covered with two's." Presently in 
a jerky sort of way, she wrote "February" on the paper 
before her, on which Mrs. Ramsay had also been drawing, 
and then on the slate, close to the tree, "22;" when it 
struck me that the whole manifestation referred to the 
vision she had had on the previous Friday week, when she 
had seen a tree covered with strips, on which were written 
"February 22d, 1871," and she was given to understand 
that that date was connected with something relating to my 
drawings. 

The tree drawn by Mrs. Ramsay had the representation 
of a good many round fruits on it, which were probably 
meant to refer to the tree seen in the latter part of 
Mrs. T.'s vision, which was covered with oranges ripening 
rapidly. 

I gave paper and pencil to Mr. L., and after mesmerising 
him for some little time, his hand was moved to make a 
kind of wavering line downwards. Our spirit friends then 
wished us "Good-night," and we brought the seance to 
a close. 

At the time, I paid small heed to the fact that it was on 
the 2o//j (my important number) that I received Mr. 
McNair's estimate as to the probable cost of the Exhibi- 
tion, giving me the different details bringing it to the 
amount he had mentioned to me, and according to pre- 
vious appointment I paid my second visit to him on the 
following day, when he told me had made the best terms he 
could with Mr. Gullick; and that the rent of the New 
British Gallery was to be £100 for four months from the 
date of the opening, but that if I should decide upon clos- 
ing it at the expiration of three months, he would make a 
reduction of ^"io. There would be much to be done in 
the way of necessary repairs, of which I should have to pay 
half (not included in the estimate), but Mr. McNair would 
do his best to keep them as low as he could, and would 
also strive hard that the opening should be on the day I 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 49 

wished. Of course we had a great deal to talk over, for it is 
only when entering upon a new undertaking that one realizes 
the many different agencies that must be put in motion to 
achieve the result, but I at length left him, with a promise 
to write that evening a formal letter, authorising him to call 
the next day upon the landlord and conclude the arrange- 
ment, and I had also plenty to consider as to the various 
preparations I should myself have to make, which would 
keep me very fully employed ; but there was no fear of my 
being a laggard in anything that should fall to my share. 

Of course we looked forward to something happening on 
the 22nd of February, and as it fell on Wednesday, I 
thought it might probably be connected with some visitor 
who might come on that my reception-day, but it passed 
off without any event of consequence. I went to the Gower 
Street Rooms in the evening, and on my return home found 
a note from Mrs. T., mentioning that I had been much 
in her thoughts all day, when all at once the elucidation 
flashed into my mind. It was the taking of the Gallery that 
was the event ! a momentous one indeed, as connected with 
my drawings ! Thus the Tree was planted, by the first 
positive step being taken, and it was done at the appointed 
season. I wrote to tell Mrs. T. that it was made clear to 
me, and this was her tender answer — " My dear Friend, 
I have just received your note, and feel quite amazed at the 
coincidence. It was very singular that Mrs. Ramsay should 
have been influenced to draw the same golden-fruited tree 
at your se'ance on the 14th instant. Please God it may be 
for your good physically as well as spiritually, and may your 
whole future life be filled and rounded with every imagin- 
able blessing. With kindest love, very truly yours, 

Mary E. T." 

She came to me again to-day, the 24th, and while talking, 
I said there was something more that yet remained to be 
unravelled, for that I thought there must be some signifi- 
cance in Mrs. Ramsay's having drawn a Palm, whereas 
the tree Mrs. T. saw in her vision was a Fir, but nothing 
on the subject came to us during our seance, which referred 

D 



50 EVENINGS AT HOME 

entirely to the coat of many colours ; but this evening, in 
writing to a friend who had been present at the seance, I 
spoke of the fulfilled prophecy of "Mrs. TVs date-tiee" 
simply meaning, tree covered with the said date February 
22nd, 1 87 1, and the very expression taught me all it im- 
plied, for the Palm is the Date-tree, and thus the whole 
was made clear, and is another example of the humour 
often so delicately veiled in the spiritual enigmas. 

I have done a tracing of Mrs. Ramsay's tree, before 
effacing it from the porcelain slate, so as to gather up 
every thread of this curious prophecy, and my heart rises in 
fullest thanksgiving to the bountiful Lord for His ceaseless 
mercies. 

On the night of the 14th, we shewed the wonderful heap 
of coloured pieces to Preston when she came for good-night 
into the drawing-room in her way up to bed, and I asked 
if she thought she could construct a coat out of them, 
and she was very willing to set her ingenuity to work : she 
remembered a sleeveless upper garment of Javanese cut 
that my sister-in-law used to wear, and she suggested that 
the shape of that might be suitable if we could have the 
pattern ; so I wrote to Isabel to make the request, and she 
sent me a charming little model thereof, telling me that its 
Eastern name was a Kabaya. 

On Friday the 24th, when I had mesmerised Mrs. T., 
she passed under influence, and said : " Somebody is say- 
ing, 'Where's the coat? where's the coat?' and I asked, 
[Can you tell me anything about the coat ?] " It is being 
put into my mind to say that it is intended as a symbol." 
[May I ask of what ?] " There is a garment, a spiritual 
garment, in course of preparation, and all your life is being 
used, as needed, to form this garment, and it will be com- 
pleted when your earthly life is finished." [How then is 
this one the symbol of it ?] " The spiritual garment is of 
many colours, which correspond to deeds, good deeds. 
This was sent to remind you whenever you see it, and 
for that purpose only, of the beautiful garment now being 
prepared for you." [Then it did not in any way carry out 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 5 1 

the thought of Joseph's coat of many colours ?] " Only a 
chosen few can ever wear the garment you will wear, only 
the best beloved (tenderly caressing my hand with hers) : 
good deeds, and ill deeds as well, form substantial and, — 
in the sense that spirits understand, — material substances, 
which can be fashioned by loving hands to promote the 
comfort of the spirit. The spiritual garment will be lined 
with crimson, to denote the warm human love which you 
shed around you, and which will return to you. In the first 
garment you will wear after leaving this life, there are little 
stars, like silver stars, on the front ; they are much brighter 
over this upper part, and they decrease in brightness as they 
go down towards the feet : there is one very bright star on 
the left side just over the heart This garment is worn over 
a white lawn robe, and there is something like a golden ball 
at the foot of it : the arms are white, and the coat is on the 
front and on the back. They are shewing me the lining 
again, to impress upon me that the colour is deepened with 
every deed, active deed, and especially if good to others ; 
and those who can read will see in a moment all your life 
when they look at this garment. From the shoulders to 
the neck and part of the back, is filial love (she moved her 
hand along each portion of her own body as she mentioned 
them : then down the right, from the neck to the waist), 
here is love for the Deity and for all the manifestations of 
God : (in the same manner down the left), this is the love 
and this beautiful star (over the heart) will be placed on 
your brow by his hand when he first meets you. From this 
part (round the waist) both front and back, are your loves 
for friends and for all the world fully typified. 

" Some other coats are thrust forward for me to see, one 
of them is very, very brilliant in colour and in decora- 
tion, and a spirit's hand was put at the back so that 
I could see right through it, then the hand touched 
the flimsy looking substance, and it fell to pieces, and 
there were serpents crawling. Out of the dust it has 
made, there has come one great green slimy creature (she 
seemed much disgusted) ; and they say that those other 



52 EVENINGS AT HOME 

garments, although so bright, are as frail as the one they 
shewed me, and have no substance (she still looked as if 
she were witnessing something unpleasant). There will be 
those who will dispute your right to wear this robe, and I 
hear them say ' Give it to me, — give it to me,' — so many 
voices — ' give it to me, I should have that . . . (listening, 
and gradually smiling again), but when they see you, 
and feel the power that will come from this garment as 
you approach it, they will become silent and abashed. 
(She again moved her hands to the different parts.) 
The back is finished : this side (the right) is finished 
to the waist : this (the left) is finished half across the 
breast : this part (from the waist downwards) has much 
to be done to it : here and there it is complete, and then 
there are spaces : when it is quite complete, your work here 
will be finished. Do you need a sign of time ? " [I do not 
need a sign ; if one is vouchsafed, it will be because it would 
be best, I am content any way.] " It is well . . . When you, 
with your bodily hands and senses are able to touch, to 
see, to examine this robe, it shall be a sign to you that 
the end draws near," [Thank you, dear friend.] " for which 
you need make no preparation beyond your daily living 
and life." 

Here she suddenly awoke, with the last words ringing in 
her ears. I then read the whole of it to her, as she had 
been totally unconscious all the time. 

Before she went away, she reverted to the subject of the 
crimson lining, and said she should like to get it for me, 
so that the coat should as nearly as possible carry out the 
idea of the one she had seen in the vision : she accordingly 
got some beautiful crimson merino, having been aided by 
the voices as to her choice while making the purchase. 
The description she had given of the signification of the 
different parts enabled me to decide upon the position of 
some of the colours, leaving the rest of the arrangement to 
Preston, who fashioned the garment according to the small 
model, and the many coloured pieces with their crimson 
lining form a Very striking and original looking coat, which 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 53 

I have since worn at some of my home seances, over a 
white muslin body, thus carrying out the idea of the lawn 
robe. 

I dare say the question may arise in some minds as to 
where these many tinted scraps may have come from ; but 
although there was no kind of clue, for I examined them 
all myself very thoroughly, they were clearly patterns of 
winter dress materials, such as we are all quite familiar 
with. The winter was over, the samples from henceforth 
useless, and had probably been cast aside to some place to 
which the invisibles had access through the presence of some 
medium, and could thus save them from being wasted. 

A lady who had heard of the manifestation wrote thus to 
my cousin, from Hastings : " Do you know I fell upon rather 
a curious thing yesterday. In one of the little magazine 
books which adorn the side-table of our sitting-room, I 
came upon an article containing some extracts from a work 
by the Countess de Wilton, ' The Art of Needlework.' 
Among the extracts was one touching upon the custom in 
the East of dressing a beloved or favourite child in a coat 
of many colours tastefully sewed together. The account 
ends thus. ' It may not perhaps be absurd to refer to even 
so ancient an origin as Joseph's coat of many colours, the 
superstition now prevalent in some countries, which teaches 
that a child clothed in a garment of many colours is safe 
from the blasting of malicious tongues, or the machinations 
of evil spirits.' " 

I had now to commence my Catalogue, and to shape the 
method in which it was to be made out, which required 
deep consideration and earnest prayer for instruction as to 
what would be most seemly, for in that especially I needed 
divine guidance, and, I am thankful to say, received it fully 
in every detail. The chief object aimed at in this Exhibi- 
tion, was not so much to display the wondrous powers of 
the unseen intelligences, as to manifest unflinchingly to the 
world that true Spiritualism is inextricably bound up with 
the religion of the Sacred Scriptures. It would be in some 
degree necessary to add to the mere catalogue of the titles of 



54 EVENINGS AT HOME 

the works, enough of interpretation to prove that the glorious 
tints and beautiful lines contained an inner meaning as well 
as an external semblance, and also that the minds of the 
visitors should be gradually led up to the higher teachings 
by fragmentary glimpses of the light that had been given to 
myself, for which purpose the significations of the Spirit 
Flowers and Fruits were written in the fewest possible 
words, while the interpretation of the Spheres was published 
as I originally received it. The Sacred Symbolism would 
have been far too elaborate to be condensed in any way, 
therefore I was only permitted to give an extract from the 
very first interpretation, and for each of the others a text 
had to be selected ; and a clergyman will best understand 
the amount of time that such a work would require, and 
the entire absorption needed to carry it out. I had to 
place the drawing in front of me, and then to seek the 
special meaning that had been therein conveyed (which 
would probably be contained in its own interpretation), and 
by degrees I learned that each picture represented as it 
were a sermon on such or such a point, and with the aid 
of the concordance I found every text bearing upon it 
(perhaps under several headings), and then the selection 
would have to be made. There was yet another thing that 
I had contemplated as a possible hindrance. Six of those 
symbolical drawings had never even received their titles, 
and Mamma had often urged me to try for them, but the 
attempts had always been unsuccessful. Now, however, 
they were given to me quite easily, the texts being selected 
on the same occasion; and thus my work was gradually 
proceeded with, but I sat at it closely indeed, and burned 
more than midnight oil, for during the preparation of the 
catalogue it was often two or three o'clock in the morning 
ere I retired to rest. The interpretations of the Spiritual 
Crown and its representative Monogram were in a manner 
compilations ; portions being gleaned from those of the 
different individuals, so as to be the concentration of the 
new thoughts that had been inflowed to me little by little 
during their progress. In due course Mr. McNair sent me 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 55 

a draft copy of the agreement for the Gallery for my 
inspection and approval, and on the 8th of March he 
brought the deed for my signature. 

When the Rev. Mr. B., who had "held the key," first 
came to see me, a couple of years before, he had been so 
much struck with the Royal Monograms, that he had pleaded 
hard that I would have photographs of them taken for 
him (of course at his own expense), which I agreed to 
have done, although I was rather doubtful of a successful 
issue, because of the photographic difficulties as to certain 
colours ; but I was much charmed to find that they came 
out very satisfactorily. They were reduced to about half the 
size of the originals, but they gave me the happy thought 
that I need never henceforth be utterly separated from the 
remembrance of any of my beloved pictures, however far 
away might be their destination, and I availed myself of 
the loan now granted of those that had left me, to have 
them photographed in the carte-de-visite size ; and I made 
up my mind that for the future I would have that process 
gone through before sending away any that I might especi- 
ally value to new owners, and for my present undertaking, 
I had a diamond shaped frame fitted in with sixteen of 
these little reminders ; which had taught me a fresh lesson 
as to the perfection of my pictures, for I found that their 
perspective was so true (I do not mean as to rule and com- 
passes) that when these photographs are looked at through 
a large magnifying glass, — or a good graphoscope would 
doubtless be better, but I do not possess one, — they have 
the effect of having been taken from a substantial object, 
instead of from a flat surface. 

I went on the 16th of March to one of Mrs. Everitt's 
interesting se'ances, which are always imbued with religious 
thought; they usually commence with prayer, then the 
reading of a portion of Scripture indicated to them by raps, 
and hymn singing : in the course of which would appear 
little sparkling lights flitting hither and thither, and some- 
times, if it were solicited, the responses to questions would 
be given by their movements according to the same code 



56 EVENINGS AT HOME 

of signals as the raps. But the direct writing was at that 
time the main feature of her mediumship : sheets of note 
paper and pencils were on the table, and when there was 
an intimation that the manifestation was about to com- 
mence Mr. Everitt would begin, steadily counting the 
seconds, and simultaneously with his "One," the rapid 
movements of the pencil would be heard, and at the expira- 
tion of perhaps eight or ten counts, the pencil would fall on 
the table, dropped from the fingers of the invisible writer, 
when Mr. Everitt at once lighted the candle to examine 
the result, and to read to us the closely filled page of small 
but legible writing, when it might be found that upwards of 
eight hundred words had been written in eight seconds ! 
generally containing some instructive message. On the 
evening of my first visit there, Mr. and Mrs. Everitt 
received directions to hold a series of seances, as the 
spirits wished to give some evidences (I think) as to the 
early Christian times, for which they were to have a special 
circle, and the meetings were to be held about once a 
week. They did not at that time decide who were to be 
invited as members of that circle, the list was to be given 
to them when alone, but I was not surprised to receive a 
note from Mrs. Everitt saying that she had been desired 
to request me to join them, and I agreed to do so as far as 
my present very busy time would admit. At each seance 
the appointment would usually be made as to when the 
next was to be held, and there was one circumstance that 
struck me very much, which was, that without my having 
said any word as to any engagements I might have, they 
always appeared to be known to those invisibles, for the 
evening that would be fixed upon was one that would not 
in any way interfere with them. I attended altogether five 
seances, and on the last occasion, May nth, the message 
was given that the sittings were to be suspended for a time 
(I think through the agency of the spirit voice) ; when I 
said that although I was of course just then dreadfully busy, 
as soon as my Gallery was really open I thought my time 
would be in some degree more free, but I was told that I 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 57 

could not yet realise whether I should be much or little 
occupied. I have often referred in conversation to an 
instance then given me of the knowledge of small details 
possessed by my unseen advisers. The Everitts lived in 
Penton Street, Pentonville, and I generally went there by 
the Paddington omnibus that passes the end of the street, 
but as it was usually late when I came home at night, the 
question would arise as to whether the speedier method 
would be to return the same way, or to walk to King's 
Cross, and travel by metropolitan railway, therefore as I 
walked down the street, I would ask, " Shall I turn towards 
the left, to meet the omnibus, or towards the right to go to 
the station ? " One night, to my surprise, I receivd No in 
answer to both queries, which left me slightly in a puzzle, 
but as I reached the end of Penton Street, the omnibus 
attained the same point at the very instant, -so that I at 
once got into it, without having turned either to the right 
or the left. I may add that similar proofs come to me 
almost daily, although they are seldom such as I can 
remember in order to narrate them to others ; but they are 
indeed such as to economise many a moment of my very 
fully occupied time, so that none may be wasted in idle 
speculation as to what shall be done next. 

My catalogue had the unusual addition of a preface, for 
the purpose of explaining to visitors what really was meant 
by spirit-drawings, giving a slight idea of the steps by which 
I had travelled, and throwing what light I could to aid 
others in following the same path. On the 28th of March 
I took the finished manuscript to Mr. McNair, when we 
had a consultation as to the fashion of the various details. 
He suggested tinted paper, but creamy books are a trial to 
the eyesight ; a delicate pink flashed at that moment into 
my mind, as a type of the Love exemplified in all the 
teaching, and the cover was to be brown, to exemplify that 
it was given through an earthen vessel. I told him that I 
wished a proportion to be covered in cloth, because it was 
not intended as only an ephemeral production, but one that 
I trusted might still go on doing a work when the Exhibi- 



58 EVENINGS AT HOME 

tion had become a thing of the past. He undertook all 
the arrangements as to type, planning internal varieties, 
&c., &c., so that my mind might be at ease about it until 
the proof should come to me for correction. Of course I 
told him any ideas on the subject that I had myself formed, 
but his taste was so good that I felt I might safely trust to 
it without any anxiety as to whether the result would be 
satisfactory, and I must here add a few words of intense 
gratitude to Him Whose aid is ever being lavished upon 
me, for having placed me in the hands of so upright and 
honourable a man, and one so competent in every respect 
to help me through my undertaking. We decided that 
there should be season tickets, at half a guinea for one 
person, and a guinea for subscriber and friend, and I firmly 
believed that by that means I should receive the warm 
co-operation of all Spiritualists, who could thus aid me in 
the great effort for the Cause that I was boldly entering 
upon single-handed. As I shall not revert to this subject, 
I may here mention that no such sympathy was forth- 
coming, for only four double tickets and three single ones 
were ever purchased, but the seven names are duly regis- 
tered in the "Abstract of receipts and expenditure" con- 
nected with the Exhibition ; for all my accounts have been 
rigidly and accurately kept, and the two facing pages in one 
of my little books tell the whole tale at a glance. 

From the Dudley Gallery Mr. McNair accompanied me 
that same afternoon to Old Bond Street, to inspect what 
was to be the temporary home of my pictures, and very 
desolate it was then looking, with bare walls and busy 
workmen, but I gained at any rate some notion of its 
capabilities. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 59 



CHAPTER V. 

On the 21st of March I had a seance in remembrance of 
Mrs. Guppy's first visit here and our first seance in 1867. 
Our circle was but small, consisting of Mrs. T., Mrs. Guppy, 
Miss Leith, Miss Alice Leith, Miss Neyland and myself. 
When we had said The Lord's Prayer, the spirits gently lifted 
up the table three times in response. They then, by the 
alphabet, desired me to " Read Revelation, 20th chapter," 
and when I had done so, and extinguished the light, the 
message was spelt, " I will bring you a coat never touched 
by man : — kneel." We enquired if all were to kneel, but 
it was only I. Of course I immediately complied, and in a 
few moments I felt something being gently drawn down 
over my head, until it rested about my shoulders and 
waist : I then felt quantities of flowers being showered 
upon me, and Mrs. Guppy saw them descending as if from 
the ceiling. " Light " was then spelt, and Mrs. Guppy 
lighted the candle, so that I should not disturb anything, 
and they were all allowed to come and look. The coat was 
a white garment of Eastern make, most deliciously per- 
fumed, the flowers lying upon it in masses as well as on me 
and the floor round about. A message was then rapped 
out while I was still kneeling, "Read Luke, 15th chapter, 
22nd verse," which Miss Neyland then read, "But the 
father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and 
put it on him." The material of which it is made is some- 
thing like barege, only clearer and stiffer, with a few silk 
stripes bordering the very narrow breadths. It is very 
curiously made, being as it were without shaping or slopes, 
and at the bottom of the sleeves is a sort of edging done 
with the same silk that it is sewed with. We then collected 
the flowers, and the spirits said they were to be placed in 
water. There were tulips, ferns, hyacinths, daffodils, nar- 



60 EVENINGS AT HOME 

cissuses, cyclamens, and wallflowers. When we were again 
settled, and the light put out, I said, " May I ask who was 
the / who brought the coat ? " to which the answer was, 
" I am Gabriel." 

Pencils and paper were then taken by the spirits to 
the two Miss Leiths, and we heard them using them, 
but it only seemed for the purpose of development, for 
there was no apparent design in what they did. I also 
heard the invisibles themselves at work, and we were told 
to sing the Doxology, during which time the paper on 
which the direct drawing had been done was brought to 
me, and then a second in the same way, after which a light 
was requested The first was a slight sketch of The Eye, 
with the words, " God works all : " — the other was also The 
Eye, with a link above and below, and the words, " God's 
Love." 

We all saw lights, one of which was visible at several 
different times ; it was about the size of a florin, and seemed 
ever in motion within itself, not flickering upwards like a 
flame, but as if into the centre, so that in that centre was 
the fullest light, although even that was delicate, and I 
think if our powers of spiritual vision had been developed, 
we should have seen the light rainbow-hued — at times it 
fluttered close to our eyes, at others to a distance ; then 
vanishing to re-appear shortly, and was very charming. 

We were told to place our handkerchiefs on the table, 
and they were soon brought back to us, knotted in different 
forms and deliciously scented; mine was as a cross, and 
Mrs. T.'s like a little animal, with two black seeds for 
eyes. Miss Neyland saw Mamma, and afterwards she saw 
her holding one of my dear little baby sisters by the hand, 
and described her just as so many other mediums have 
done. I also felt Motee's hand stroking mine and tenderly 
patting the pearl ring. 

Mrs. Guppy felt herself being mesmerised, and Mrs. 
T. said that something like a prophecy seemed to come 
to her about that influence, which referred to a year hence. 
I was then desired to light the candle, but it had all passed 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 6 1 

from her mind, and I was impressed to mesmerise her, and 
when entranced she said to Mrs. Guppy : " You are to be 
more free to work for us within a year. There is a will 
stronger than yours which is to be subdued, and you will 
be able to devote yourself more to our work. The Lord 
gave, and The Lord taketh away — you will be made to say, 
Blessed be the name of the Lord." She spoke a few words 
to another member of the circle ; and afterwards, just as she 
awoke, she said, " Whom He loveth He chasteneth ; " and 
when I asked for whom the last sentence had been intended, 
she placed her fingers just above my heart, and said she had 
read it there in letters of light. The seance was shortly after- 
wards concluded with a few words of blessing, 

Mrs. Ramsay was to have been with us, but when she 
did not make her appearance, I thought she might pro- 
bably not have returned home from Bath, where she had 
been spending a week, so we did not wait long for her as 
she is always punctual ; and when we took our places at 
the table, Mrs. Tebb suggested that it would be well to 
place the seat there that she would have occupied, and 
she has since mentioned that several times in the course of 
the evening she had an impression that some one was sit- 
ting in it. I afterwards had a letter from her eldest 
daughter Mrs. Young, to say that she had that very after- 
noon received a telegram from Lucknow, communicating 
the sad intelligence of the death of her beloved and only 
son Jim on the 12th instant. I have since been told by 
the spirits that the message Mrs. T. saw in letters of light, 
"Whom He loveth He chasteneth," was intended for Mrs. 
Ramsay, who would have sat between Mrs. T. and my- 
self had she been present, and when we had drawn closer 
to one another towards the latter part of the seance, I had 
exactly taken Mrs. Ramsay's place. 

The prophecy to Mrs. Guppy was fulfilled by her grand- 
father's death, I think shortly before the expiration of the 
twelvemonth. 

Although I may now, at a distance of ten years, look 



62 EVENINGS AT HOME 

calmly back at that season of actively preparatory work, it 
was a time of considerable excitement, and the question of 
the dress I was to wear on the day of the Private View, was 
by no means an unimportant one. I had set my mind on 
one especial fancy, which originated in the drawing done 
for me by Emanuel Marshall. The seven spirits who are 
there depicted with me, all have starry robes, and I had 
wondered that such was not the case in the commissions 
he executed for other people, until he did the one for Mr. 
John Bennett, when again the stars were sprinkled on the 
flowing garments of the four spirits hovering around him, 
and that gave me the explanation ; for those who were 
again distinguished in that manner were Archangels, the 
same, as my friends. So I must needs set my heart upon a 
starry brocade, to be dove-coloured with sheeny tints : and 
about the middle of March came a letter from a loving 
friend, advising me not long to delay my search for what I 
wanted, lest there should be difficulty in meeting with it, 
and enclosing a liberal assi s^ce^Joj^arjis^he^rjurchas^, so 
that I might have no scruples as to price. When the time 
came that I could spare a day to visit Oxford Street and 
Regent Street, vain was my quest ; the pattern of stars was 
out of vogue, and only some dreary, faded looking silks 
were in the deeper recesses of some of the shops ; but I 
did see a dress that I might compound with, if by all my 
seeking I should fail to find the exact article, and to that I 
had finally to return. The shot, sheeny colouring was 
perfection, and the brocaded pattern was like dove's eyes 
besprinkled all over it, so that it produced very much the 
kind of effect that I had imagined to myself 

The printer made quick work, and on the evening of the 
8th of April Mr. McNair sent me the proof, with which I 
was highly delighted, and sat closely at it so as to return it 
with all speed. On the eighteenth I went to him to decide 
many small matters, such as the cards of invitation for the 
Private View, also the tickets; the grand bill that was to 
embellish the outside, his suggested advertisements, and so 
on ; but most important of all, the covers for the catalogues. 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 63 

I then broached to him (what I had not been allowed to 
mention earlier), my desire to have two or three specimen 
catalogues by the next day but one, my birthday, the 20th. 
He thought it would be utterly impossible, but he would 
try. I pointed out to him that that was the date affixed to 
the preface. Oh ! yes, he had seen that and had been very 
near correcting it in the proof, even after I had sent it back 
to him, for he thought I must mean May 20th, but then he 
took into consideration how accurate I usually was, and 
decided against meddling with it ; so he said he would try 
if possible to fulfil my date by sending some to me on the 
appointed day. The reason I had not been permitted to 
express my wish to him in an earlier stage, was to give me 
an additional proof as to the watchful care surrounding me, 
and to shew me that all events would work into exactly the 
right moment without the intervention of my own ordering. 
If I had spoken, even ever so slight a word, it would have 
seemed as if I had given the impetus, whereas it was made 
evident to me that my wishes had been tenderly forestalled, 
for it was now too late for the expression of them to have 
availed aught unless the catalogues had been ready for 
their covers. 

I will now recur to my written records. . . Before giving 
the account of my birthday seance, I ought to mention that 
I had felt peculiarly joyous all day ; it seemed to me that 
everything was going so propitiously for me ; my dear friend 
had come on the previous evening, to stay with me, not- 
withstanding the many uneasy doubts I had felt lest at the 
last moment something untoward might occur to prevent 
her from making her hoped-for appearance. Another fear, 
too, was dispelled in the afternoon, for Mr. McNair was 
successful in sending me four copies of my catalogue, which 
looked even prettier than I had anticipated. 

Soon after we had dined, Mrs. Ramsay called to see me, 
as she would be prevented by the expected arrival of a 
friend from Scotland, from joining our seance in the even- 
ing, which was a great disappointment both to her and to 
me. She expressed warm and loving wishes for my happi- 



64 EVENINGS AT HOME 

ness for many future years, and she pressed a little packet 
of gold pieces into my hand, begging me to select a birth- 
day gift for myself, to aid in my equipment for the moment- 
ous Private View day of my Exhibition. I shewed her the 
silk dress, that I had purchased a fortnight before, and she 
was much pleased with it. My catalogue was the next sub- 
ject of observation, with which she was so much delighted 
that she wanted to have one at once, and in giving me the 
shilling for it, congratulated herself on being the v r ery first 
person to make a payment relating to my great enterprise, 
tenderly hoping that it might bring me luck, adding that if 
I could have all the success she wished me in the under- 
taking, it would indeed "fulfil my desire." 

There was yet another thing to see : — the coat of many 
colours,^that by dint of close work, Preston had finished 
by the previous day, in readiness for me to wear on that 
evening. Mrs. Ramsay was much struck with it, admiring 
the tasteful arrangement of the pieces, and the capital con- 
trivance of the whole. She then helped me to put it on, so 
as to judge of the effect, with which she was charmed. 

When my seance guests had arrived, the catalogue was 
naturally one of the first subjects of discussion, and the 
moment Mrs. Guppy saw the notice about season tickets 
on the fly-leaf, she exclaimed, "Oh! I hope no one has 
yet taken a guinea ticket, so that /may be the first." She 
was the first, and I must here express my gratitude to the 
loving Father who granted to me in two separate ways to 
reap the first proceeds of my contemplated enterprise on 
my birthday. 

Having touched upon the subject of birthday gifts, I 
may say that others came to me on this occasion, for the 
purpose of contributing to my costume for the eventful 20th 
of May. 

Our circle consisted of Miss S., Mrs. T., Miss Florence 
T., Mrs. Guppy, Mrs. P., Miss Neyland and myself, but 
before we sat down, they helped me to don the many 
coloured garment. 

As I said The Lord's Prayer, we heard, after each petition, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 65 

three sharp little raps, almost as if made with a finger-nail, 
and at the close, the table was tipped three times for the 
Amen. By the alphabet I was then told to " Bring bread 
and wine, to perform the Sacrament. You are one of the 
priests ordained to the Holy Communion. Put on the 
White Dress." 

I rang for a slice of bread (without crust) and a knife, 
and fetched the decanter of Canary wine and a glass from 
the adjoining room, and Miss S. assisted me to remove the 
coat of many colours and to put on the white garment 
brought to me by Gabriel at our last seance. 

I then stood in my place at the table, and having poured 
some wine into the glass, and cut two strips of the bread, 
waited to be impressed as to my further proceedings. 
While thus in expectancy, I felt my spiritual crown on my 
head, as I had done on Mamma's birthday seance in 1867, 
while she still formed one of our earthly circle, on which 
occasion Mrs. Guppy (then Miss Nicholl) saw it ; but she 
made no observation this time, so she could not have seen 
it, and I did not mention the circumstance, as it was impos- 
sible at the moment, and it might afterwards have been out 
of place. Upon further consideration it has struck me that 
the reason of Mrs. Guppy's not having seen it now, was 
that the candle was lighted, and on the other occasion we 
were in darkness. 

I was then moved to dip one of the strips of bread into 
the wine, holding it with all the fingers of the right hand 
bent over it until it should be thoroughly moistened, then 
afterwards turning the other end, so as to soak the whole. 
I then broke off a piece of about the size we use in the 
Sacrament of the Church of England, and gave it to Miss 
S., with the words, " In the Name and in remembrance of 
Him Who lived and died for us." Those words were for 
all, for the remaining pieces were given in silence ; the first 
strip being apportioned to four persons, and the second, 
having been steeped in the wine in the same manner, being 
divided among the other three, my portion being double 
the size. I was the last to partake of the bread, but I took 

E 



66 EVENINGS AT HOME 

the first sip of the wine, and gave it in rotation to each of 
the others, desiring Mrs. Guppy to finish it. I then extin- 
guished the light, and the further message was rapped out, 
" Read a chapter ; " and upon my enquiring which it was to 
be, was told, "Open, and read." So I lighted the candle, 
and got the Bible, when the pages were turned by me, until 
my hand was guided to the 3rd chapter of Hebrews, which 
I read. I then had to remove the white garment, and 
resume the coat. 

We were no sooner again in darkness than we at once 
saw the pretty light I described on the last occasion, and it 
flitted about charmingly from one to the other. Mrs. T. 
distinguished a face as if lighted up by it. At one time it 
came so close to me that I exclaimed, " Oh ! do kiss me," 
and I felt the touch of lips while the bright light was rest- 
ing on my own, and when thinking of this circumstance 
after I went to bed, my spirit friends revealed to me that 
the light proceeds from the Divine Breath by Which man 
was quickened and " became a living soul," which expands 
in us as we become purified, until our whole body shall be 
full of light. 

We then heard the invisibles very busy with the tubes, 
which, as well as the sheets of paper and card, they placed 
in the hands and laps of the party, and then we smelled the 
fragrant perfume of wallflowers and other spring blossoms, 
and when at length we were told to have a light, we found 
the table was quite heaped up with flowers in delicious pro- 
fusion ; and Mrs. Guppy, taking up one of the cowslips, 
called my attention to the fact that on squeezing the end 
of the stalk, juice flowed instantly, which is a proof that 
they were but just plucked, for that even in ten minutes 
after flowers are gathered, a kind of healing or drying 
process takes place where the stem has been broken off, so 
that it will not bleed. To us, who have seen such innumer- 
able evidences of the wonders of Spirit power, no such proof 
of the genuineness of the manifestation was needed, but a 
statement of that fact may bring conviction to some vacil- 
lating minds. 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 6/ 

We had the flowers put in water, after the guests had 
selected what they wished to take home with them, and 
Ann then thoroughly dried the table, the wet condition of 
which explained to us why the tubes and papers had been 
removed by the spirits, it having been to preserve them 
from being moistened by the rain-besprinkled flowers. 

As soon as we were again settled, and the light extin- 
guished, we heard a voice, but could not exactly catch the 
words, and upon asking what was said, heard in clear 
accents, " Don't be frightened," and after a moment's 
pause ; " I wish you very many happy returns of the day." 
I recognised the voice at once, although I had not heard it 
for a year and eight months, when the speaker was with me 
in mortal form, but I asked who spoke. " Oh ! you know." 
[But I want you to tell me.] " Give one guess." [Well 
then, it is Charlie.] " Of course it is, darling Auntie, and 
they are all here." He conversed with me for some time, 
and as far as I recollect I will record the whole, but I wish 
first to describe the character of the voice, for although I 
have for more than three years heard the spirit voices in 
many circles, never have they sounded to me so exactly 
like that of the human being in quiet talk : they are either 
boisterous, or laboured, or jerky, but it was as if Charlie in 
the flesh were one of the circle ; it was the buoyant voice 
of young manhood, with exactly his exultant tones when 
telling me about his successful examination before leaving 
England. 

[I am so glad to hear you speak to me, Charlie dear.] 
11 1 wish you could hear me always, and that you could 
see me." [Do you see me ?] " Oh ! yes, quite well. How 
do you do, Miss S. ?" [Very well, thank you.] "I am 
glad of that : and you, Mrs. T. ? " [Quite well, thank 
you.] "That's right. And I am glad to see you, Mrs. 
Guppy." While he was talking, I was being patted with 
a tube by another spirit, and a % voice then whispered through 
the tube, " God bless your soul :" and I said : [Who is this, 
Charlie ?] " Don't : Grandma, I'm jealous. Grandma is 
getting so close to you that she is in my way. Why is not 



68 EVENINGS AT HOME 

Mrs. Ramsay here ? " [Because a friend was coming to her 
from Scotland this very evening.] "Oh ! that is a pity. I 
am so happy, Auntie darling." [So am I, Charlie dear.] 
({ Oh ! yes, I know you are : I have been with you all day, 
and I have seen you frisking about. Grandma let me wish 
you many happy returns of the day for all of them." [Do 
you want to make a speech, Charlie? do you remember Christ- 
mas Day?] "Now don't, Auntie." ... In their juvenile 
days, Charlie was always intending to return thanks on 
Christmas Day, for his father, absent in India, and invari- 
ably broke down, with a flood of tears. [What about my 
Exhibition ?] " I hope it will be a great success in every 
way." [How do you like the Catalogue ?] " It is 
exquisite." [You see there is that about you, in the 
Flower of Consolation ?] " Oh ! yes, I saw it all. I looked 
it through while Mrs. Ramsay was looking at it, and, Auntie, 
your dress is a beauty, you must always wear it." [Oh ! 
no, Charlie, I must have a variety.] " No, you must always 
wear that one." [No, Charlie, there is Grandmamma's 
brocade, I must wear that sometimes.] " No, it is old- 
fashioned." [Never mind, I must wear it sometimes.] " No, 
you must wear the new one, or else I won't go with you." 
[Ah ! then some of the others will.] " Well, then, Auntie 
darling, you'll wear it sometimes." [Yes, I will.] I heard 
another voice whispering, and Charlie exclaimed, " I'll 
say it, Grandma" (then to me), "You must kiss Miss S. 
for the dress." Which I gladly did, and then he said, "I 
like that coat." [How does it look to you ?] " Beautiful." 
[What am I to tell Preston?] "Tell her that she has 
made it so very cleverly that it ought to be sent to an ex- 
hibition, and it would be sure to win a prize." [But, Charlie, 
you should talk to the others, not all to me.] " Oh ! they 
won't mind, because it is your birthday: I must talk to 
you." [Do you go to Arthur, and make him know you 
are there?] "I try to do so, and I think he does some- 
times just a little." Some perfume was being sprinkled 
about, and he said, "There, is not that sweet?" I was 
afraid of my coat, which received a good deal, but 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 69 

Charlie said, " Don't be afraid, it won't hurt it " (and it 
did not). . . . 

A spirit spoke occasionally, in low tones, and when I 
afterwards enquired the name, he answered," John Bunyan." 
I said I was very glad of his company, and enquired what 
had induced him to favour us with it, when he replied that 
it was because we were a good and religious-minded circle : 
he had also another reason that I knew, but he could not 
say more, as his voice was gone. And the tube then fell. 
Charlie, too, said that he must leave, and wished us all 
good-night, but I did not hear the tube fall, and it did not 
seem to me as if he had used one at all. 

I now felt a spirit tenderly stroke my arm, and gradually 
move the hand down until her fingers touched my pearl 
ring. Upon my asking Miss Neyland if she saw any spirit, 
she said, " Mrs. Ramsay's young daughter is just come 
in, and I think she was touching your ring, I know 
she touched your hand." While she was still speaking, 
the hand was placed on my shoulder, and Miss Neyland 
said, "Now she has moved the hand, and is resting it on 
your shoulder, the one nearest to me." Motee then took 
hold of my chin, and I suddenly lowered my head, so that 
I kissed the dear little hand ; every circumstance of which 
Miss Neyland detailed. 

" Good-night " was then rapped out, and this most deeply 
interesting seance was concluded in the usual way. 

Miss S. afterwards mentioned to me that in a book she 
was then reading, allusion was made to its being a custom 
in the Greek Church to take the sacrament mingled to- 
gether ; and on her return home, she sent me the extract. 

From Ritchie's 'Religious Life in London,' 1870. 
" Then the priest comes from the altar, and stands on the 
steps. It may be to swing the censer, or to bring out the 
Gospels bound in silver, which almost all present come 
forward to kiss : or it may be in the course of the service 
some one wishes to communicate. Then while the clerks 
are reading, the doors of the altar are opened, and the 
priest appears with a cup in his hand, which the communi- 



70 EVENINGS AT HOME 

cant comes forward to receive. (The cup, it must be 
observed, contains bread and wine.) Again the priest 
comes forward with his crucifix, to which they all bow." 

I do not remember whose suggestion it was that I ought 
to endeavour to have the subject of my Exhibition brought 
before the notice of the Queen, but it was at once acceded 
to by my Spiritual directors, to my great satisfaction, as, 
with reference to her I must own that I am passionately 
loyal. On consulting Mr. McNair as to the possibility, I 
found it would be necessary to have a special catalogue 
which he thought must be printed on satin, but he was to 
ascertain the particulars, and let me know. On April 24th 
he sent me the estimate for, " Six copies printed on pink 
satin, bound in white calf and gold ^"21 — or, Six copies on 
extra fine pink paper, bound in white calf and gold ;£n. 
... I have got the estimate for six copies, for in the event 
of the Queen or the Emperor (of the French) honouring us 
with a visit, one would have to be presented to them. I 
have made enquiries, and find it is not absolutely necessary 
to have satin, I should therefore recommend the other 
style. I have no doubt I shall be able to get the catalogue 
laid before Her Majesty, if you decide to go to the ex- 
pense. No time must be lost." 

Of course the more moderate plan was decided upon, 
and I ventured to hope that perhaps the Queen might 
come. The catalogue was duly forwarded to her, looking 
very lovely, but I have never heard any word as to whether 
it reached her own hands. Two of the others were con- 
veyed to the Crown Princess of Germany, and the 
Emperor Louis Napoleon, but I am equally ignorant as to 
the result. When all was over, I gave one to Mrs. 
Ramsay and one to my sister, retaining the third for 
myself. 

While upon this thought, I may mention that I was per- 
mitted to follow out every suggestion that in a worldly 
point of view would be likely to lead to the pecimiary suc- 
cess of my venture ; so that in the aftertime no one would 
be able to say, " Oh ! if you had done so-and-so, that would 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 7 1 

have made your Exhibition more generally known, and thus 
would have drawn crowds to see it." All was done in such 
respects. In the first instance, I had the following leaflets 
printed, which I sent in packages of half-a-dozen to all 
those friends (both personal and Spiritualist) who I thought 
would interest themselves in their distribution. Mr. Young 
likewise enclosed them in all his private letters as well as 
those connected with the Christian Spiritualist. 

"New British Gallery, 39 Old Bond Street. 
Exhibition of Spirit Drawings. 

" Miss Houghton has taken the above Gallery for the 
purpose of exhibiting the collection of Drawings in Water 
Colours that have been executed through her mediumship 
during the last ten years, to offer to others, as well as to 
Spiritualists, an opportunity of seeing the representations of 
some of those flowers that may meet their eyes when they 
enter upon a future existence, and likewise to give some 
insight into spiritual symbolism in an artistic point of view. 

" To those who do not understand the subject, it may be 
needful to explain that in the execution of the Drawings, 
she has been entirely guided by invisible spirits, who could 
thus delineate what was beyond the human imagination. 
Open daily from 10 a.m., till 6 p.m." 

There were placards on the walls, and at a later date, at 
some of the railway stations. After the opening, placards 
were carried about, and the men had likewise the pink 
leaflets to distribute, with discretion : advertisements in the 
Times, and other daily papers : in fact, I do not think that 
any single point was neglected. My effort was made with- 
out stint, so that no outside reproach could come upon me 
on that score. The result was in God's Hands, and I never 
received the shadow of a promise as to mundane success ; 
but I have had many evidences that it did a good work in 
the true sense. 

In the meanwhile I was having anxieties as to my frames, 
155 of which take time to put together; I had duly taken 



72 EVENINGS AT HOME 

that point into consideration, by settling all about them 
with Mr. Spencer at an early date, but then it was his very 
busiest season, being preparatory to the opening of the 
various spring exhibitions, and he concluded that there 
would be ample time when he had got through those others, 
but he did not calculate upon delay in his glass supply, 
which became a hindrance, but eventually it was all finished 
to the moment. Oh ! that framing business ! it was veritable 
labour, done almost without allowing myself breathing time. 
The servants assisted me in giving the final polish to the 
glasses, but no hand but mine was permitted to touch the 
pictures, each of which I put in myself, hammering in every 
nail with my own hands, and my poor fingers and nails 
suffered sadly in having to retain the small brads in steady 
position during the hammering process ; which has formerly 
seemed to me easy enough while putting in two or three 
drawings, but becomes blisteringly serious when they mount 
up to upwards of a hundred and a half. Each picture, as 
finished so far, I handed to Ann and Preston, who pasted 
at the back the strips of brown paper that I had cut in 
readiness. Mr. McNair suited me exactly in being a neatly 
methodical man. I told him I would myself put the 
numbers on the pictures, and they would thus be a guide 
as to their chronological order in the gallery; so he pro- 
vided me with the numbers in consecutive arrangement, 
tied up in their little packages of ten, and ready gummed 
at the back ; so the sticking in the corner was duly done. 
There was still another point : a great many of my pictures 
were not to be parted with, having purely family and per- 
sonal associations ; some also of those to be exhibited were 
lent back to me for the time. Although the word "Sold" 
might be appropriate enough to these latter ones, it would 
not be so to the others, so I wanted a something else, with 
which he provided me in the shape of crimson stars, which 
figured lavishly on the collection, and I must own gave 
many visitors the idea that my professional success must 
have been very great. 

Early in the morning of Wednesday the 17th, the van 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 73 

made its appearance, with Mr. Spencer in propria persona 
to pack them all in safety, and I watched my treasures 
being stowed away into its depths, with a happy confidence 
that they were fulfilling their destiny — but — how empty the 
room felt, with nothing in the portfolios ; a fact that I had 
failed to realize until they were positively gone ! I gave 
them a fair start, allowing for van progress in contradis- 
tinction to that of omnibus, and followed in due course, 
with the full intention of performing the part of hanging 
committee. What was my dismay to find the workmen 
still in full possession, the white-washing not concluded, 
and no symptom of draperies, while the pictures were 
standing against one another for mutual support in the 
centre of the room. Mr. McNair came in very shortly 
after me, and assured me that however unpropitious might 
be the present aspect of things, all really would be accom- 
plished by the needful time ; but he nipped in the bud my 
notion of my being present during the arrangements, 
courteously declining any portion of my company until 
twelve o'clock on Friday, which was the hour specified in 
the invitation to the members of the Press. — I mentally 
queried, and was told that I might place implicit confidence 
in there being a satisfactory result, and so home I came, 
and doubtless that sntall season of repose was advantageous 
to me before the fresh plunge into active life. 

His planning was admirable, but he told me that he had 
had them up and down several times before he could 
entirely satisfy himself, but there came ample evidence to 
me that he had not been completely left to himself in the 
adjustment, for there were several points that were very 
curious. The first pencil sketches were hung on the centre 
of the left-hand wall, and were carried on in about two 
rows all round, just at a favourable level for examination. 
A screen stood at the head of the stairs, shutting away the 
view of the street ; and the last picture upon that screen 
was the last that was done while Mamma was with me. 
The later ones were then continued into and round that 
corner until they reached the pencil ones, and thus the first 



74 EVENINGS AT HOME 

and the last were brought as it were into juxtaposition, with 
the non-coloured ones between, so that the enormous 
growth of the power during the ten years became self- 
evident, although the change from one to the other in 
gradual progression was scarcely perceptible. There were 
other peculiarities of arrangement that were very striking 
to myself, some of the details of which have nearly slipped 
from my memory during these ten years, while some were 
purely personal, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 75 



CHAPTER VI. 

No one can figure to themselves my delight when, at the 
appointed time, I beheld the lovely array of the whole of 
those works that had grown under my own hand, with 
daily new revelations of unknown beauties and unsuspected 
truths. They came to me in a manner with fresh life and 
even greater strength than in their progress, for in reality 
I had never allowed myself the luxury of calm inspection : 
at the moment one drawing was completed I would straight- 
way begin another. Even when I took them out to shew 
to visitors, I stood only at the side, and not where I could 
study them to the best advantage, while now I could 
indulge myself to my heart's content, — and I did. More- 
over, I discovered forms, and designs, and distances, that 
had been utterly undreamed of, and I realised yet more 
fully the Love that had bestowed such a gift upon me. 

It was a very pleasant day with the literary confraternity, 
answering all the graciously expressed wonderments, and 
doing my best to indoctrinate them with some notion of 
what Spiritualism means. I knew nothing of who was who, 
although I learned somewhat of them in the course of 
conversation, and there were also two or three visitors who 
did not come in a professional capacity, and the six hours 
passed away very rapidly, Mr. McNair congratulating me 
at the expiration of the time upon all having gone off so 
well ; he and I having had various little bits of chat in the 
course of the day. 

With reference to the prices to be set upon the pictures, 
I had written to Mr. L. to ask him if he would kindly have 
a consultation with me on the subject, as his knowledge on 
that point would be important, but, as his coming was 
delayed in consequence of his being much occupied, my 
unseen friends agreed to make a kind of provisional valua- 



76 EVENINGS AT HOME 

tion, which I had accordingly written roughly out. Mr. 
L. was, however, able to come while my drawings were still 
in their portfolios, and would have gone very patiently into 
it with me; giving me his idea of perhaps the first half 
dozen, and in each instance he placed the amount higher 
than they had done, but with about the same relative differ- 
ences as to the sum ; so he finally gave it as his opinion 
that I had better adhere to the list they had helped me to 
make out, especially as he considered that it was a very 
moderate one, seeing that they were works of art without 
parallel in the world. 

* I must here touch upon the subject of the guinea, which 
I have been taught to look upon as a kind of sacred sum, 
being composed of a trinity of sevens, the same fact holding 
good with the half-guinea. It may be true that the coin 
itself is no longer to be met with, but the term in its amount 
still stands firm in this blessed land of ours to which it 
belongs, in all that is allied to spiritual sources, such as 
charitable donations, physicians' and artists' fees, and their 
correlatives, whereas the fee for law, which is of the earth 
earthy, is some aliquot part of only the Latin pound. 

It strikes me that exception may be taken by some of 
my readers to the intense interblending of the heavenly and 
the mundane in these records, for many people seem to 
think that the one is for Sundays and the other for the six 
weekdays ; but my feeling is to make one's whole life into 
Sunday, in so far as living close to God, so that the two 
phases of being must be inseparable : — the pound of flesh 
can exist only by the flow within it of the vital blood, and 
as long as it courses through my veins, may its every pulsa- 
tion beat in harmony with the Will of my Heavenly Father. 

The eventful Private View day arrived, and more than 
fulfilled my expectations. Many of my personal friends 
were there, and also many whom it was a great gratification 
to become acquainted with ; among whom was Mr. de 
Bunsen with his wife and daughters, son of that Chevalier 
Bunsen whose name had been familiar to me from my girl- 
hood upwards. They were very appreciative, both of the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 77 

beauty of colour and work, and also of the inner meanings 
conveyed and interpreted : indeed I may say that was my 
almost universal experience. I had yet another happiness 
on that day, for Mr. Hard wick purchased one of my pictures, 
so that another red star was added to those that already 
graced the corners. It was one entitled The Ear of The 
Lord, and was the only one I had ever done representing 
that symbol, and was executed in exquisitely beautiful 
tracery on a substratum of variously harmonised tints. I 
retain its shadow in photographic form. 

My own idea had been that I should probably attend 
that gallery once a week, and I had even told Mr. McNair 
that I would appoint one special day for the purpose, so 
that if any visitor should wish to learn more than could be 
gathered from the catalogue, or if any artist should be 
desirous of gleaning somewhat of the methods of manipula- 
tion and colouring, he could then arrange for them to meet 
me j but I was now informed by my teachers that I should 
have but the one day at home, my Wednesday according to 
custom, while the other five were to be spent in Bond 
Street, so as to give the fullest possible advantages to those 
who should go there, which proved that the spirit friends 
belonging to Mrs. Everitt's circle must have received an 
intimation to that effect from my own teachers. 

On the Sunday morning Preston brought me up her 
paper, the News of the World, in great glee, as it contained 
the following notice. 

" Exhibition of Spirit Drawings in Water Colours. An 
exhibition of a novel character is opened at the New 
British Gallery, 39 Old Bond Street, consisting of drawings 
by a lady, who states that her hand has been entirely guided 
by the spirits, no idea being formed in her own mind as to 
what was going to be produced. At the first glance the 
pictures seem only masses of lines and colours — extraordi- 
nary mazes, but without a defined plan ; the brilliancy and 
harmony of the tints, however, engage attention, and the 
idea presents itself to the imagination of a canvas of Turner's, 
over which troops of fairies have been meandering, dropping 



78 EVENINGS AT HOME 

jewels as they went. Miss Houghton, the lady executant, 
is a clever and tasteful artist ; and furthermore, a sincere 
believer in what she says. We do not recognise in her 
extraordinary achievements more than what an accomplished 
and patient artist, with thoughts bent in a particular direc- 
tion, could produce ; but her conviction claims respect, and 
although we have met with nothing to induce us to believe 
in the spirit theory, we readily acknowledge the thorough 
conscientiousness of Miss Houghton's belief. Her inspira- 
tion is of a poetical character; indeed the lady and her 
drawings constitute a little poem, fanciful and beautiful, its 
aims and ends being to establish the holiness and beauty of 
pure religious principle, and the happiness which it creates 
in this life leading to the greater happiness hereafter. One 
of her ideas is that ' when a child is born, a flower springs 
up in the spirit realms, which grows day by day in confor- 
mity with the child's awakening powers, expressing them 
by colour and form until, by degrees, the character and life 
stand revealed in the floral emblem.' It is of these floral 
emblems the exhibition chiefly consists." 

It was opened to the public on Monday the 22nd, when 
I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance (afterwards 
ripening into friendship) of Sir Charles Isham, an earnest 
Spiritualist, who frankly acknowledges his convictions to the 
world, and forwards the cause by every means in his power. 
On a later occasion he was accompanied by Lady Isham 
and their elder daughter. 

In a long conversation with one of my visitors, Countess 
V., I learned that she has curious and interesting experi- 
ences, upon which my drawings seemed to throw some 
light j for she sees beautiful balls formed of brilliantly 
coloured fibres, which gradually open out, looking more 
and more attenuated, until within them is revealed a lovely 
face. It is generally in the early morning when first' awaken- 
ing that these visions are granted, and the fibre-like enve- 
lope had been a great mystery to her. 

Oh ! what a happy time that was ! I never wearied of 
explaining and re-explaining all that I would fain impart to 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 79 

the whole world, sometimes to utter strangers, whose names 
perhaps I might never learn, sometimes to friends of many 
years ago, who had long seemed to have passed from my 
life, but whom I rejoiced once more to greet, for the red 
filaments from my fruit (to borrow a simile from my own 
work) cling with great tenacity wherever they may have 
rested, and I would gladly strengthen them whenever in 
my power. Mr. McNair used to wonder how I could bear 
up under the fatigue of so many hours of standing about 
daily (I used generally to be there from soon after ten in 
the morning, until half-past five), but I was the blessed 
recipient of such ceaseless care that my energies were never 
allowed to be called uselessly into play. My custom was 
to sit quietly with a book on the ottoman in the centre of 
the room, in bonnet and out-door costume, and when fresh 
visitors came in, I would question as to whether I should 
accost them in any way. The answer might possibly be, 
"No, sit still." There was nothing in my appearance or 
demeanour generally, to indicate that I was anything more 
than an ordinary visitor there, but I had my two magnifying 
glasses with me, and my excuse to speak to any one would 
be the offering of one of those to enhance the enjoyment 
of the spectator : — so sometimes I would receive the answer, 
"Hand the glass, and come away:" — whereas if it were 
any one with whom conversation might be a mutual benefit, 
the directions would be, " Offer the glass, and stand about," 
when the courtesy would lead to a few words, and so on 
till the tide of talk went on in full flow, when sometimes a 
small crowd would gather, one question or answer calling 
forth another, until my tiny congregation would almost 
unwillingly disperse carrying with them subject matter for 
thought for many days. 

Mr. Burlton Bennett was a great frequenter of my gallery, 
and I owe him much gratitude for his earnest desire to 
extend a helping hand to me, for he was generally accom- 
panied by a considerable party of friends. His admiration 
of the pictures was unbounded, and being a skilful artist 
himself, his opinion had much weight with those who 



So EVENINGS AT HOME 

might be doubtful of their own judgment, especially in 
regard to works that could not be criticised according to 
any of the known and accepted canons of art. 

On the Saturday of that first week, a clergyman friend, 
Mr. Brereton, brought another to introduce to me, the Rev. 
Mr. Barrett, who paid me a long visit full of deep interest, 
for he was a mesmerist of many years' standing, and had 
performed some extraordinary cures. He afterwards proved 
a most steadfast friend. 

Mr. McNair had provided a blank volume for the inser- 
tion of newspaper notices, fragments of which I shall ex- 
tract by degrees, but one that appeared in the Queen, I will 
copy in its entirety. One old friend in speaking of it, said 
it was so good that she and her husband had thought I must 
have written it myself: I, however, had no knowledge even 
of the author, and remain to this day equally ignorant, but 
shall be happy to be made wiser if this should meet the 
writer's eye. 

" Spirit Drawings." 

" Hamlet says, * There are more things in heaven and 
earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy : ' and 
truly, when in the latter part of the nineteenth century we 
have to consider a public exhibition containing pictures, 
possessed of some claims to artistic excellence, purporting 
to be the work of departed spirits, the saying of the 
melancholy Prince occurs to the mind with redoubled 
force. 

" On Monday last, at 39 Old Bond Street, was opened 
an exhibition of spirit drawings in water colours, by Miss 
Houghton ; and for the information of those of our readers 
who may not be acquainted with the modus operandi^ which 
such works are produced, we may state that the pictures, 
although actually drawn by the hand of a living person, 
are stated to be so executed at the instigation, and while 
the individual is under the control, of one who has passed 
away from this earth ; the person producing the picture 
being in fact a mere medium, or means of communicating 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 8 1 

to those alive the production of one no longer having an 
earthly existence. 

" With the credence or disbelief to be accorded to so 
singular a theory we have little to do, but simply chronicle 
the fact, leaving it to our readers to please themselves in 
the view they may take of the subject. We may however 
remark, en passant, that what is termed spiritualism appears 
to have excited attention and aroused interest so generally, 
that learned and scientific men have taken up the matter, 
and it is probable the result of their labours and calm 
investigation will be the means of throwing light upon a 
subject at once remarkable and interesting, and of which, 
notwithstanding all that has been said and written up to 
the present time, but very little is really known. 

" The works to which we are about to refer are from 
the brush of Miss Houghton, and that lady, with a courtesy 
and candour we should think habitual with her, emphatically 
assured us that, although these works are undoubtedly the 
production of her pencil, the directing influence producing 
them was altogether beyond her control, and she was in 
perfect ignorance whilst the drawings were in progress what 
was intended to be represented, or what the result would be. 

"The subject which for want of a better title has been 
variously denominated 'Spirit-rapping,' 'Table-turning,' 
and ' Spiritualism ' has been much ridiculed and roundly 
abused, probably for the reason that it is easier to ridicule 
a difficulty than to explain it, and also because satirical 
writing is a popular style with many persons. We disclaim 
any sympathy with the subject of Spiritualism ; but surely 
the matter is worthy a calm, considerate, thoughtful investi- 
gation, for there is no merit in abusing those who, we may 
fairly believe from the object they appear to have in view, 
can only desire to elicit the truth. 

"The water-colour drawings, numbering one hundred 
and fifty-five, are so extraordinary in character, and are so 
entirely opposed to one's ideas of art, ancient or modern, 
that criticism in the ordinary manner becomes difficult, not 
to say impossible. 

F 



82 EVENINGS AT HOME 

" The assumption of Miss Houghton is that these works 
are the production of spirits of the deceased, and that they 
(the spirits) make use of her hand as a means of expressing 
themselves, the representations being those of fruit, flowers, 
&c, having an actual existence in the spirit world. 

" This theory is perhaps repugnant to active, business, 
common-sense men of the world, but the ideas suggested 
are not uninteresting — at least, except to atheists or those 
who both theoretically and practically ignore the existence 
of a Deity or Supreme Being. Miss Houghton in the 
catalogue of her works informs us, although perhaps in a 
somewhat allegorical, mystical manner, that as soon as the 
breath of life enters the form of man his good and evil 
actions are recorded in the spirit world, and simultaneously 
with the birth of a child into the earth life a flower springs 
up in spirit realms, which grows day by day in conformity 
with the infant's awakening powers, until by degrees the 
colour and form stand revealed in the floral emblem and in 
the fruit thereof. And very beautiful are some of these 
delineations of fruit and flowers (for of such is the exhibi- 
tion composed) ; open, we admit — but that is of little 
moment — to the bitter jest and sharp sarcasm which will 
assuredly be heaped upon them. Many of the drawings 
may look like singular and confused scrawls ; but they are 
elegantly minute in their tracery, frequently beautiful in 
form, and in their bold and often violent contrasts of colour 
never inhamwnious. 

" We invite our readers to see the works for themselves ; 
they must be prepared for a singular novelty, and one calling 
for calm thought and consideration." 

I have just been reading through all those criticisms, 
which I never have done since my first perusal of them in 
the gallery itself, and I do find evidences of what are 
intended for sarcasm and jest, but I also realize that such 
characteristics are usually in perfect harmony with the 
whole diction of such articles, so that they are fitted to the 
place they hold. Frequent, too, are the objections to 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 8$ 

named colours being expressive of qualities, and no small 
amount of that class of wit is expended on the subject, so 
I will here quote a line or two from my book of interpreta- 
tions that was not published in the catalogue. 

" In thus giving the names as artistically known, we must 
be understood to mean that they are the nearest approxima- 
tion to the tint expressive of the respective qualities, for some 
of the real hues are not to be met with in colours of earth." 

I had of course been unable to do any drawing for some 
time before the opening of my Exhibition, being so fully 
engrossed in other ways, but on the following Wednesday I 
once more established myself at the easel, to the extreme 
delight of the Dove, who cooed and crooned to me in a 
perfect state of ecstasy, seeming to congratulate me and 
herself that I was again sitting still like a reasonable being : 
she never liked my leaving her, and my absences had 
latterly been both frequent and prolonged. I have never 
mentioned that on the very morning of my brother Clarence's 
death, she had laid an egg, the companion to it following 
on the evening of the next day. There were no more in 
that year ; but others came later on, so that in the course 
of her little life she laid fifty-eight, all of which I sucked, 
preserving the shells, which I keep in a covered fancy glass 
that used to be the depository for cheese for Papa, who was 
the only eater thereof. That glass stands in the centre of 
the table, unless removed to make way for flowers, and 
often puzzles people as to its contents, which, by concave 
diminishment, look like small sugar-plums. 

Having thus a drawing in progress at home, I sometimes 
invited any of the especially interested of my gallery visitors 
to come here on the Wednesday and see me at work, which 
was generally esteem'ed a great privilege. 

Of course I was to have a seance for Whitsunday, which 
fell on May 28th, and when Mrs. T. came she was 
accompanied by Mr. Andrew Leighton of Liverpool, who 
was up in London for a few days, and wished to take his 
chance as to whether he might be admitted to the circle, 
and my spirit guides immediately granted his request, so 



84 EVENINGS AT HOME 

that our party consisted of Mrs. Ramsay, Mrs. T., Mr. and 
Mrs. Everitt, Mr. Leighton, Mrs. Guppy, Mrs. P., Miss 
Neyland and myself, I having on the coat of many colours. 

As soon as the light was extinguished, I felt Motee's 
hand touching the ring, and Miss Neyland spoke of it at 
once, mentioning that Motee was there, and what she was 
doing, and when I commenced The Lord's Prayer, she 
gently tapped upon it at each petition. 

We all saw the lights, much the same as those I described 
on a previous occasion, and we soon heard our spirit friends 
busily engaged with the pencils ; they did three small draw- 
ings, but without much denned form, presenting one of them 
to Mr. Leighton, for him to take away with him. 

By the alphabet came the message, "Shall I bring you a 
spiritual inkstand ? " The idea amused us, and of course I 
said I should be glad if they would. In a short time some- 
thing was placed in my hand, and we were told to have a 
"light," when we found that it certainly was an inkstand, 
made of some light coloured wood, which Mrs. Guppy said 
she recognised, and that it was made from the wood of a 
tree that Napoleon Buonaparte had planted in Italy. I 
was then anxious to know whose it was, that I might restore 
it to its owner, and Mrs. Guppy said she would tell me if I 
would promise to keep it, but that I would not agree to, 
and it at length turned out that it was her own, but I 
believe had not been unpacked since her return from Italy. 
Mr. Leighton suggested that they ought to have said Spiri- 
tualist's inkstand. 

We then smelled the perfume of an orange, and after- 
wards the orange itself was peeled by the invisibles and 
distributed among us, some having only the peel, but to 
me was brought half the orange, which I was allowed to 
share with Mrs. Ramsay and Mrs. Guppy. The message 
then given was " Elizabeth and Miss Neyland must sit on 
the sofa," and when they were there, Mrs. Guppy made 
some observation on the diminished power in the room in 
consequence of the absence of all my drawings, in which 
the spirits strongly acquiesced. 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 85 

We were then told to " Sing," and in compliance with 
further directions we sang the first verse of the Evening 
Hymn, but they began carrying the sofa cushions, &c, 
about, to which I strenuously objected, as I never like 
rough physical manifestations; so they let us have a light, 
when we found one of the sofa pillows on the table, and 
the other on the floor, while in Mr. Leighton's hands 
was the china plate for cards, on his shoulders an anti- 
macassar, and on the ground near him the album contain- 
ing my family photographs, which had been placed in the 
card plate when taken ofT the table to make the preparation 
for my company. Mrs. Guppy asked whether Charlie 
would speak to us in the course of the evening, and 
received an affirmative answer, and we were then told to 
u Eat and return," which rather surprised us, as it was only 
nine o'clock, but we did as we were bid, expecting that 
probably some fresh arrangement might be made for Mrs. 
Everitt's manifestations, but when we came back the only 
direction we could obtain was a repetition of the suggestion 
that Elizabeth and Miss Neyland should sit on the sofa, 
and after some little time Charlie's voice was heard, but it 
seemed at a distance and was not nearly so clear as before, 
and when I wanted him to come closer to me, he said, " I 
can't, Auntie darling, because of the atmosphere." He 
again urged upon me that I should always wear my dove- 
coloured silk at the Exhibition, to which he had accom- 
panied me every day, and he was glad that hitherto there 
had only been one day that I had not worn it. He ex- 
pressed his pleasure at Mrs. Ramsay's presence, and con- 
versed for a little while, but said he could not stay long : 
and after telling Mr. Leighton he was glad to see him here, 
said good-bye to all. Then " No more," was rapped out, 
but we thought that might refer only to Mrs. Guppy's 
portion of the seance, and as the response was a doubtful 
one, for a time we sat patiently listening for the raps from 
Mrs. Everitt's friends, but all the message we at length 
received was " No more to-night." When we had the light, 
I mesmerised Mrs. T., who passed into a sort of semi- 



86 EVENINGS AT HOME 

trance, but there were only a few fragmentary words, and 
she said afterwards, that what she saw seemed to be taken 
away before she could gather the meaning from it. 

Mr. Leighton feared that it might have been his unex- 
pected presence that disturbed the influences, but I thought 
he would probably not have been admitted had that been 
the case, and I had previously almost feared that the seance 
would not be a very interesting one, because I had had 
scarcely any intimations from my unseen friends that they 
were gathering from me in preparation for the seance, all 
the thoughts of my own spirit circle seeming to have been 
concentrated on my Exhibition, which is to them one of 
the grandest events connected with the spiritual movement. 
I also believe that the absence of the pictures was very 
detrimental, and that the invisibles were not sorry that such 
a proof should be given of the value of the atmosphere 
appertaining to them. 

It was a great disappointment to me that I could not 
hope for nice long visits to the gallery from Mrs. T., 
but she was going across the Atlantic in a very few days, 
to spend some time with her own relatives, so that this 
seance was our farewell, and on leaving me at night she 
expressed many tender wishes that my work might be 
blessed and blessing. 

It is delightful to look back upon that time, and to recall 
the charming intercourse I had with so many intellectual 
people, some of whose names are well known in the literary 
world, although I may scarcely feel at liberty to mention 
them, for every one must take their own time for acknow- 
ledging their spiritual convictions. My sister Isabel used 
to enjoy spending hours with me in my calm retreat, quite 
out of the turmoil of the world and its ways. Two sisters 
from Reigate spent one long morning with me : they had 
relatives who were Spiritualists, but still had not gleaned 
very much from them on the subject, and only knew what 
they had learned from books, and we went into number- 
less questions. They were both struck with the beauty of 
the drawings, but the elder one had more faith in their 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 87 

spiritual origin ; the younger sister seemed to think that it 
might be an outcome from my own passionate love for 
flowers and exquisite colouring, although her scepticism 
was very delicately veiled. Singular to relate, in the course 
of that same year, the gift of drawing spirit flowers came to 
herself, much to her own astonishment and gratification, 
and she must have looked back with dismay upon her 
original doubts: she has likewise developed drawing powers 
in various directions, with brilliantly gorgeous colouring. 
To her sister also had come mediumship of an elevated 
inspirational character. 

Several of my visitors were much struck with the frame 
of photographs, and in such cases I was allowed to supply 
them with copies, which I had however to bring from home 
in readiness for a future visit to the gallery, or to forward 
by post, as I might not have any of them there. . 

One afternoon while Isabel was with me, two very 
charming young girls came in, one was in a riding habit, 
and it appeared that their Mamma had been in the morn- 
ing, and had been so much struck that they had resolved 
to lose no time in sharing the same pleasure, over which 
they were indeed enthusiastic, flitting across from picture 
to picture as a fresh beauty caught their eye, and revelling 
in the various delicate details. An elderly coachman came 
up once or twice to remind them of the lapse of time, but 
they paid no heed to his suggestions as they seemed unable 
to tear themselves away, and each time when they were on 
the point of going some new attraction arrested their steps. 
I caught their Christian names, Izzy and Rosie, and a few 
days later made the acquaintance of their Lady-mother, 
who then had a married daughter with her, and I had the 
pleasure of several visits from her. She knew something 
of Spiritualism, and mentioned the name of some of my 
own friends with whom she was intimate. Isabel often 
used to revert afterwards to the freshness of enjoyment 
shewn by those two fair girls. 

Mr. S., one of my visitors, told me on his first entrance that 
he must frankly inform me that he was yet on the debatable 



55 EVENINGS AT HOME 

ground, not having made up his mind as to whether spiri- 
tual communion were a fact, or simply se/f-delusion, for he 
had seen enough of it to be quite sure that it was not wilful 
deception, and indeed I knew that some members of his own 
family were mediums, although it was my first introduction to 
himself. I said that I would not attempt anything in the 
shape of evidence, for that I had no doubt he would find 
it in that very room. He was an artist, and looked at the 
drawings with great interest. On reaching the one num- 
bered in the catalogue as 29, he exclaimed, " That is a 
proof 7 Any one understanding anything whatever of the 
subject, knows that no artist ever springs at once from one 
method of working to another completely opposite. That 
drawing is by a different hand ! " In which assertion he was 
perfectly right, for in all the previous drawings my hand had 
been guided by Henry Lenny, whereas for this one, which 
was the inside view of his own spirit flower, I had been pro- 
moted to the guidance of a spirit from beyond the spheres, 
namely, St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, whose 
method of working was quite different from Lenny's, for 
the colours were laid on with much strength, instead of in 
a succession of most delicate washes. Mr S., pointing to 
another at some little distance, said, " That " (and again to 
a further one), "and that, are by this new hand; these bring 
a conviction that leaves no question." He thus recognised 
at once the same character of manipulation in the No. 37, 
"Mendelssohn's Flower," and No. 42, "The Holy Trinity," 
which were also by St. Joseph, bringing to him the certainty 
of the assistance of invisible spirits. He was intensely 
charmed with the whole exhibition, st udying each pictu re 
with additional delight (carrying his chair with him from 
one to the next), and becoming so engrossed with the later 
ones that he could hardly tear himself away. He studies 
much from the old masters, and said that it is well known 
that one great point of their superiority to modern artists 
arises from the beauty and care of the underneath work : 
the men of the present age work much too rapidly; all is, as 
it were, on the surface. He could therefore appreciate the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 89 

result ill the later drawings executed through my medium- 
ship, produced by the succession of work, which, although 
it may be trying to my patience, amply rewards me at 
length by the wonderful effects of inner beauties glimmer- 
ing through, each of which beauties has rejoiced my eye 
as they were done, but I must confess that I often feel 
sadly grieved as I see it relentlessly covered, with only the 
smallest fragment left visible. But I have learned that only 
thus can perfection be attained in anything or any person : 
the hidden and inner must be true and complete, or the 
outer will be but as a whited sepulchre. 



90 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER VII. 

Cards of invitation had been sent out for May 19th to the 
editors of not only the regular daily and weekly newspapers, 
but also to those of a religious character of various denomi- 
nations including also the Jewish papers ; but I do not at all 
know whether notices of the Exhibition may have appeared 
in any of them, but it seems to me that as a return courtesy, 
they might as well have forwarded me a copy of such notice. 
One such instance (with a difference) amused me much. 
There was a complimentary article of about a couple of 
dozen lines in one paper, and the editor (and proprietor) 
brought in rather a considerable pile for me to distribute 
among friends, which I thought was intended as a kind 
of advertisement for his paper; but when they had all 
vanished (not by my giving, by the bye), he called in, with 
his small account for the same ! When the editor (or his 
representative) of any paper came armed with that invita- 
tion card (irrespective of date), a season ticket for self and 
friend was given in exchange, and likewise a catalogue. 
All these scraps of information were novelties to me, and I 
dare say they will also be so to other people, and as I give 
my readers credit for liking to know something of everything, 
I pour them forth for public benefit. It was a very sight- 
seeing season to me, for other exhibitors of pictures or 
curiosities came to see my gallery, and complimented me 
with admissions to theirs ; and as mine would generally be 
a quiet time from about twelve or one o'clock till three, 
I could then go upon such dissipations. I saw the Double- 
headed Nightingale : the Queen of the Lilliputians, who 
was the most uninteresting little dwarf I ever saw, more 
like a lanky wooden doll than anything else, with a squeaky 
fretful voice. There was no appearance of plump humanity 
about her, like General Tom Thumb and his genial little 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 91 

quartette, consisting of himself, his wife, his sister-in-law, 
and Commodore Nutt ; to say nothing of the dear little 
year-old baby Thumb, that had long ago toddled its small 
person to the front of the platform, to give me a solicited 
kiss, and whose death I was afterwards sorry to learn. I 
also saw Dore's Gallery, with which I was charmed ; the 
French Gallery ; Mr. Dobinson's Exhibition of the Old 
Masters, which was, like mine, under Mr. Mc'Nair's juris- 
diction, &c, &c. 

One of my visitors, after an intensely minute study of the 
pictures, told me that they had an especial interest for him, 
for that he was a microscopist, and that the effects produced 
exactly resembled the wonders revealed by the microscope, 
but invisible to the unaided eyesight. I love my pictures 
(although it is perhaps a work of supererogation to say so), 
and that season of public inspection brought much balm 
to my heart, inasmuch as by the aggregate of individual 
appreciations, they received their due praise in the multi- 
plicity of points in which they excel. The scoffs of the 
ignorant were unimportant, they never gave me the shadow 
of a pang, unless perhaps for the unhappy perpetrators' 
sake. Taken in class division, the most sympathetic visitors 
were the clergy, of every denomination, and artists. The 
former were interested in the new truths revealed, for with 
them I generally had very long conversations, answering 
many questions of moment that might have harassed their 
souls^ for my Bond Street room, like my own home, sus- 
tained much the character of a confessional, the avowals 
remaining equally a secret in my own bosom. One of my 
clerical friends, after having been with me for some hours, 
when I gave him my recollections of the interpretations of 
many of the symbolical drawings, told me that he carried 
away with him subjects for no end of sermons, and some- 
thing to the same effect was often said. Some dignitaries 
of the Church visited the collection, and I am sure that in 
that respect my exhibition fulfilled a high purpose, notwith- 
standing the heavy pecuniary loss it entailed upon myself. 
When first the project began to take form, a friend living at 



92 EVENINGS AT HOME 

a distance, who felt most anxious as to what I was under- 
taking, prayerfully sought to be directed to a text wherein 
she might find comfort. The one given to her was S. 
Mark xii. 42, 43, 44 : " And there came a certain poor 
widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 
And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, 
Verily, I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast 
more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury : 
for all they did cast in of their abundance ; but she of her 
want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." 

The artists revelled in the glories of colour, the marvel- 
lous manipulation, the delicacies of delineation. At one 
time I was in conversation with a cluster of friends, when 
Mr. de Lisle (the sub-secretary) told me that a gentleman 
wished to have a few words with me, when I should be dis- 
engaged. He was an artist, and in the first instance he 
wanted to thank me for the boon to art in bringing these 
works to public view. " But," added he, " I cannot think 
how it has been possible to produce these opalescent tints." 
Of course I then talked, explained, and expatiated to my 
heart's content, and I warmly hope the information then 
conveyed, in going with him from one to another bearing 
that especial characteristic, may have enabled him to give 
a new charm to his own works. On another occasion there 
was a group of artists in warm discussion, and I ventured 
to draw near them, the subject matter being one particular 
type of work that is unusually striking, and I heard one of 
them say, in dictatorial tones, " That is done with a 
mechanical appliance." In my own private mind I wondered 
what mechanical appliance could perform anything like it, 
especially in its infinite varieties ; but I meekly differed 
with him, and suggested that it was not so. He adhered 
to his own opinion, to which I rejoined, "But it was /who 
did it, and therefore I must know, and I cannot understand 
what kind of instrument would serve the purpose." He 
had had his answer, but he walked off in dudgeon, and I 
believe that probably to this day, "he is of the same opinion 
still." That was the only fraction of discourtesy that came 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 93 

to me from any artist. One of those who had formed the 
group, and who is a landscape painter of eminence, was 
glad to get hold of the mortal executant of these marvels, 
and questioned me about a multitude of details. I enquired 
if he had noticed a peculiar sky effect in one picture that 
he had passed, and which is in that single one only of all 
my collection. " Indeed he had, and had puzzled himself 
as to how it could possibly have been produced." So we 
went back together for him to have a fresh examination, 
while I explained clearly to him how it had been done, 
telling him the exact article that must be purchased for the 
purpose (which had surprised me when I had received 
directions to get one, which by the bye, is not a mechanical 
appliance, but a natural production) ; and I finished by 
recommending him to go home and try, to which his 
rejoinder was, " I most certainly shall." The method was 
so simple, yet so novel, and the result so true to nature as 
a cloud effect, although that was not its intention or signifi- 
cation in the drawing it embellishes. 

One of my most delightful interviews was with Mr. 
William W. Story, sculptor and artist, whose "Roba di 
Roma" I am just now for the first time enjoying. He had 
not even heard of there being such an exhibition, but 
while walking along the opposite side of Bond Street, the 
large placard caught his eye, so in he came, and spent some 
hours with me, full of enthusiastic admiration for all the 
marvels that met his gaze on every side. He said that all 
artists well know (of course he meant those who are truly 
such) that the more entirely they yield themselves to 
intuition, subduing the self-hood, the more perfect becomes 
their work. Perhaps he did not mean that they in any way 
realize external aid, but indubitably they do receive it, for 
genius means affinity with the higher, whatever may be the 
dictionary definition, and the highest genius must be the 
most modest, knowing that their own unaided powers 
could never have soared to the heights that they are enabled 
to attain through the loving help of invisible agencies. 

A large proportion of newspaper critics know nothing in 



94 EVENINGS AT HOME 

the world about Art ; they can look at pictures, where they 
see that a horse is a horse, and they gather from the talk of 
the studios what is to be said of such or such a production, 
but my Exhibition baffled them utterly, therefore they 
sometimes took refuge in unseemly words about what they 
did not understand. It is not to be expected that I should 
perpetuate any of their follies, but I will now give other 
gleanings, in some instances only a few sentences, altogether 
without reference to the paper it is from, as my main 
object is to give some faint notion of the pictured results in 
the words of outside observers. ..." Lines drawn with a 
marvellous combination of freedom and precision, and in a 
great variety of colours, depart from ever-shifting foci, 
either within or without the boundaries of the drawing, 
with every variety of curve ; they meet, and part, and 
intersect each other, incidentally yielding singular effects of 
linear perspective and colour blendings or contrasts." . . * 
" Everybody is talking about the Spiritual pictures in Old 
Bond Street. I went there yesterday, and a more surprising 
collection of 150 paintings I never saw .... beautiful 
workmanship, warmness, manual application — and the 
colouring is a new revelation. The groundwork is usually 
a mystified preparation — probably done on damp paper to 
make the colours blend and flow away " (No, he mistakes.) 
— " and on this groundwork are curves, spirals, floats of 
colour, curlicews, shell involutes, and ramifications that 
bewilder all attempts at explanation or resemblance, but 
clean, clear, and lavished in such profusion that curiosity is 
driven away from the cause of the observation to delight in 
the intricacy." ..." The whole of these drawings, from 
their feeble beginnings to their finished accomplishments, 
are entirely new in their nature and variety, newness being 
shewn in many striking points. The most noticeable 
thing in these pictures is that they are translucent, that is, 
diaphanous, quite unlike anything that is seen in this 
world. But this must surely be the case in the spirit world, 
where there is not substance or matter, only spirit. Leaf is 
seen behind leaf, stem behind stem, flower behind flower. 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 95 

. . . Nearly the whole of the pictures have four things in 
common — long sweeps, decided lines, beautiful forms, and 
never before thought of combinations. The impression 
created is that no idea existed in the mind of the drawer as 
to the tendency or effect of the lines of the pencil in pro- 
ducing the sketch. Yet every drawing shews all the effects 
which could only appear when the last shading of the 
picture should be put in by an intelligence embracing the 
deepest and most exact calculations." . . . "The series forms 
an interesting study of the progress of mediumistic art. At 
first the performances were mere scrolls, which became 
more and more intricate; then another colour was intro- 
duced, then indications of design, and ultimately that har- 
monious and pleasing blending of colours drawn in richly 
varied lines over each other, producing an effect which it is 
impossible to describe. Some of the drawings may be 
likened to a mass of brilliantly coloured threads laid one 
over the other — not in confusion, not according to any rule, 
yet in the most pleasing manner possible. The beauty and 
richness of the colours at first fascinate the eye, and a closer 
inspection interests the mind by the wonderful indications 
of design which run through each drawing. The artist is 
enraptured by the delicate and skilful manipulation." 

I had a visit from one of the Darwin school of evolution, 
and he propounded his theory with very great skill, proving 
how the utter nature may be changed into something else, 
and he explained to me how the pigeon's bill (and doubt- 
less characteristics) had been transformed into the similitude 
of that of the hawk, by having been compelled, through 
successive generations, to subsist on raw flesh : although I 
must certainly object that even then, it was not evolved 
but trained. Our talk was pleasant, ranging over much 
variety of ground ; but when he was gone, his theory 
bothered me, not for one moment as to the thought of 
accepting it, but as to how the specious arguments were 
to be met, and I appealed for counsel. " Receive your 
illustration from your own loved work. Look at the rain- 
bow ! ^Yhere are the links in creation so close as the 



9 6 EVENINGS AT HOME 

tints in its arching bow ? Who may say where one shades 
off into another ? yet the blue remains blue ; the red, red ; 
and the yellow, yellow : the several creations are distinct, 
however closely they may be allied, or however harmoni- 
ously they may be blended." 

Colonel Guthrie, a dear old gentleman, came very 
frequently, sometimes with a large bevy of friends, for each 
of whom he would purchase catalogues, but he always 
liked a nice bit of talk, interspersed with anecdotes about 
the different people who had been. One lady had been 
much struck with the flower represented in William Borer's 
plant, saying that it resembled a fossilized Lily Enchrinite ; 
and when I told Colonel Guthrie about it, he at once 
agreed as to its likeness, and promised to bring me one of 
the fossils ■ but on his next visit he expressed his great 
regret at having been unable to procure one, therefore in 
its stead he had brought me Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater 
Treatise, where the Lily is figured as one of the illustrations, 
and the resemblance is certainly wonderfully striking. He 
added greatly to the value of the book, by writing 
his name in it as the donor, in accordance w T ith my re- 
quest. I am very sorry that with the closing of the gallery 
ended my pleasant intercourse with him. At the time of 
the spirit photography, I thought how exceedingly interested 
he would be in all connected with it, so I asked Mr. 
McNair to try to discover his whereabouts for me, but all 
his efforts were unsuccessful, and he told me he feared he 
was dead. How much I regret having lost sight of him, but 
it never struck me to tell him that I should hope still to 
see him occasionally here, being always at home on the 
Wednesday afternoons, between one and five o'clock, but I 
trust that if he is still dwelling on this earth, and should, 
through any channel, hear of this mention of him, that he 
will thus give me the pleasure of renewing our friendship. 
That is a regret that I also feel with regard to several of my 
constant visitors there, and should this meet the eye of any 
of them, I beg now to tender the Wednesday invitation ; 
" better late than never." There was one lady, not a Spirit- 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 97 

ualist, who used to greet me with her cheery, " Here I am 
again ; " bringing with her some fresh friend to enjoy the 
pictures with her, and I think that she too, liked the talks 
she had with me, for she said it was a great pleasure to 
meet with any one so thoroughly in earnest. There was 
another, who carried a magnifying glass, like my own 
large one ; I believe she was an artist, and was generally 
accompanied by one or two companions, and I should feel 
very much gratified to see either of those two ladies here 
in my own home, and to shew them some of the fresh 
marvels that haye come through photography. 

Some gallery frequenters would perhaps say on their 
entrance, that they never cared for a catalogue, and would 
decline having one, but we kept one for the purpose of 
lending on the secretary's table, and he or I would offer 
the use of it, as being an assistance in the comprehension 
of something so novel. It has then been read through 
with much interest, generally followed by the purchase of 
one to take away. 

It was while my time was so entirely engrossed that the 
marvellous circumstance occurred of Mrs. Guppy's being 
transported by the spirits from her home at Highbury to 
Mr. Williams's seance in Lamb's, Conduit Street ; and I 
feel that I cannot omit the history of it, as published at 
the time, for I afterwards received the corroboration of 
every detail from Mr. and Mrs. Guppy and Miss Neyland. 
I may perhaps omit what seems superfluous, or make a 
few alterations according to what I heard from themselves : 
" On the evening of June 3rd, 187 1, a seance was held in 
the rooms of Messrs. Heme and Williams. Before it com- 
menced, the doors communicating with the passage outside 
were locked. The proceedings began, at the request of 
the mediums, with prayer. Then spirit lights, like small 
stars, were seen moving about, afterjwhich a conversation 
between the spirits John King and Katie King, was heard. 
John said, ' Katie, you can't do it.' Katie replied, ' I will, 
I tell you I will.' John said, 'Katie, you can't.' She 
answered, 'I will.' Within three minutes after Katie had 

G 



98 EVENINGS AT HOME 

said, ' I will/ a single heavy sound was heard for an instant 
on the centre of the table. Mr. Edwards (of Kilburn) put 
out his hand and said, 'There is a dress here.' A light 
was instantly struck, and Mrs. Guppy was found standing 
motionless on the centre of the table, trembling all over ; 
she had a pen and an account book in her hands. Her 
right hand, with the pen in it, was over her eyes. She was 
spoken to by those present, but did not seem to hear ; the 
light was then placed in the other room, and the door was 
closed for an instant ; John King then said, ' She'll be all 
right presently,' After the lapse of about four minutes after 
her arrival, she moved for the first time, and began to cry. 
The time of her arrival was ten minutes past eight. Mrs. 
Edmiston (of Beckenham) and two of the gentlemen went 
at once to one of the doors, and found it still locked ; the 
other door could not be opened during the seance, because 
the back of the chair of one of the sitters was against it. 
There was no cupboard, article of furniture or anything else 
where it was possible for anybody to conceal themselves, 
and if there had been, we the undersigned witnesses, are 
all certain that by no natural means could Mrs. Guppy 
have placed herself instantaneously on the centre of a 
table round which we were all sitting shoulder to shoulder. 
"Mrs. Guppy said that the last thing she remembered 
before she found herself on the table, was that she was 
sitting at home at Highbury, talking to Miss Neyland, and 
entering some household accounts in her book. The ink 
in the pen was wet when she arrived in our midst ; the last 
word of the writing in the book was incomplete, and was 
wet and smeared. She complained that she was not 
dressed in visiting costume, and had no shoes on, as she 
had been sitting at the fire without them. As she stated 
this to Mr. Morris (a merchant from Manchester), a pair of 
slippers dropped on the floor from above, one of them 
grazing Mr. Morris's head ; this was after the seance, and 
in the light." ... A document to the above effect was 
drawn up before the separation of the party, and they all 
signed it, to the number of eleven, including Mrs. Guppy, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 99 

and it appeared in the Echo ; and I will now extract from 
the fuller details published in the Spiritualist. " The 
seance was held in a small room, 12 ft. by 10 ft. 4 in., and 
it contained no furniture but the table and the chairs 
occupied by the sitters. The table was of oval form, the 
two diameters being 5 ft. and 4 ft. respectively. The sitters 
and table so nearly filled the room that there was no walk- 
ing round three sides of the room without disturbing the 
rest of those present, and asking them to shift their seats. 
The fourth side of the room consisted of large folding doors, 
which were closed, and which communicated with the 
drawing-room. The opening of the small door of the 
seance room would have let in much light from the passage. 
There was no stool or anything in the room which would 
have afforded a footing to anybody trying to jump on the 
table. There were about two feet of space between the 
folding doors and the nearest sitter, — Mr. Heme ; the other 
medium Mr. Williams sat opposite to him at the other 
end of the longest diameter of the oval table ; he was thus 
1 sealed in' so to speak, at the further end of the room, by 
the table and the sitters. At the time of the solitary 
heavy ' thud ' upon the table caused by the arrival of Mrs. 
Guppy, the members of the circle were sitting very quietly ; 
Mr. Heme was talking, his hands being held by the sitters 
on each side. When a wax match was struck, Mrs. Guppy 
was seen standing like a dark statue on the centre of the 
table, trembling all over. The excitement, of course, was 
intense. As Mrs. Guppy continued to tremble in the same 
attitude, and not to hear the words spoken to her, the 
candle which had been lit was removed for an instant, and 
John King said, ' She'll be all right presently.' When she 
awoke she had tears in her eyes, and was greatly agitated. 
In the course of her statement about her removal from 
home, she said she was sitting by the fire with Miss 
Neyland, entering some things in her account book, and 
while writing a word she suddenly became insensible. 
W T hen she awoke in a dark place, and heard voices round 
her, her first impression was that she was dead (and her 



TOO EVENINGS AT HOME 

instantaneous thought was, ' Oh ! who will take care of 
Tommy ? ' *) Then it flashed upon her that she had been 
carried to a dark circle, and she was afraid that she might 
be among strangers ; finally she recognised the voice of 
one of those present, and felt much relieved at once. She 
complained that she had no shoes or bonnet to go home 
in, and was not dressed for an evening visit ; and it was 
then the slippers (which belonged to Mr. Heme) dropped 
on the head of one of the gentlemen to whom she was 
talking ; a minute or two later, a bunch of keys dropped 
into her lap before the eyes of those around her ; this was 
in the light. At the short dark sittings which followed 
(the account of which I have omitted), a bonnet was 
brought, and Mrs. Guppy recognised it as one she had 
given to Miss Neyland some time before : also Mrs. 
Guppy's boots and some articles of dress belonging to her 
were brought. . . . 

" Mr. Ernest Edwards suggested that if Mrs. Guppy 
would grant permission, it would be as well for some of 
the witnesses to return home with her, to hear at once 
the statement of those at Mr. Guppy's house. Mrs. Guppy 
strongly approved of the suggestion, so four of the party 
accordingly went home with her in two cabs, which kept 
close to each other all the way, and all five persons entered 
Mr. Guppy's house together. 

" Miss Neyland opened the door. She was followed by 
the whole party into the back parlour ; no statement was 
made to her, but she was asked 'What had occurred?' 
She said that she had been downstairs with a newspaper on 
one side of the fire, while Mrs. Guppy sat at the other side 
entering household accounts in a book. The door of the 
room was shut. They were talking to each other, and on 
looking up from her paper after she had made some remark, 
she was startled at seeing that Mrs. Guppy was not there. 
There was a kind of haze about the ceiling as is sometimes 
the case after strong spiritual manifestations. She looked 
through the downstair rooms, and as she could not find 
* Interpolated by me, G. H. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 101 

her, went and told Mr. Guppy, who was playing billiards 
with Mr. Hudson, a photographer who lives in the neigh- 
bourhood, and who has been helping Mr. Guppy in some 
amateur photography. Mr. Guppy said that 'No doubt 
the spirits had carried her off, but they would be sure to 
take care of her.' Miss Neyland then searched the rest of 
the house, and afterwards she, Mr. Guppy, and Mr. Hudson 
sat down to supper. Spirit raps then came upon the 
supper-table, and the spirits said that they had taken Mrs. 
Guppy to Mr. Heme's seance. Mr. Guppy asked whether 
Mrs. Guppy was quite safe? The spirits said 'Yes,' so 
shortly after supper he went to bed. . . . 

" Miss Neyland was asked, ' What time it was when Mrs. 
Guppy was missed ? ' ' She did not know ; it might have 
been about nine o'clock.' Mrs. Guppy here remarked that 
'The clock downstairs was half an hour fast.' The whole 
party then went downstairs into the room from which Mrs. 
Guppy had been taken ; her shoes were seen on the carpet 
in front of the fire, near her chair, and the clock in the room 
was half an hour fast. 

"Mr. Guppy has since informed us that Mrs. Guppy 
came once or twice to him and Mr. Hudson in the course 
of the evening, suggesting that they should come and have 
supper ; they replied that it was rather too early. He did 
not know what time it was when they last saw her. 

"We regret to state that Mrs. Guppy was weak and 
unwell for several days after the occurrence of this mani- 
festation of spirit power." 

There were many dreary days during that summer (it 
was the year of the Franco-German war), and one morning 
it poured so heavily that I thought it would be almost use- 
less to go to the gallery, but the advice I received was to 
go, and I did so. Within a few minutes after my arrival, 
a lady and gentleman made their appearance. They were 
Americans, and had only arrived in London a couple of 
days before, but they had resolved that this should be the 
object of their first sight-seeing, so they would not let the 
weather interfere with their plans, and we talked Spiritualism 



102 EVENINGS AT HOME 

in full flood. Presently the husband said, looking after the 
lady as she crossed the room to examine a picture that had 
attracted her attention : " Ah ! there goes the first medium 
in the world." " Oh ! is it Kate Fox, then ? " exclaimed 
I. " No, not Kate, but her sister Leah, Mrs. Underhill." 
Of course it proved a very interesting interview, which I 
should altogether have lost if I had been left to myself. A 
considerable number of Americans were among my visitors, 
and from some of them I heard that they had seen eulogistic 
notices of the exhibition in Californian and other papers, 
which had stirred up a curiosity and interest that were most 
fully gratified by what they saw, but I regret that the several 
publications never reached my hands. 

A gentleman was one day coughing very severely, so I 
mentally enquired whether we should mesmerise him. The 
answer was in the affirmative, but that I was to wait a little 
while. He then sat down on the ottoman, when I quietly 
approached, and suggested that perhaps a few passes might 
do him good." — " Thank you. I have no doubt they will," 
was his answer. " I am a mesmerist myself, and know how 
effectual the remedy may prove." My few passes relieved 
him immediately, and led to considerable talk, in the 
course of which he learned who I was. I have often looked 
back to that incident as another proof of the restful security 
in which I dwell, for, except under advice, I could not 
have accosted an utter stranger with such an offer, but they 
knew that I might do it without appearing intrusive or 
receiving a scornful refusal. ... I believe there were a 
good many military men who came more than once ; for 
they are frequently skilful artists, and were therefore cap- 
able of appreciating such wonderful novelties in that line. 
Mr. Ward, a frame-maker, made a journey from North- 
ampton for the express purpose of paying a visit to my 
gallery, and he, too, could estimate the charm of them from 
habitually living so much among works of art. 

Mr. McNair arrived one morning rather late, having 
passed a night of anxiety and trouble, for his next-door 
neighbour, Mr. Corby, the printer of my catalogue, had 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. I03 

been suddenly taken ill the evening before, when his 
alarmed wife and daughter sent in to request his aid, and 
he rushed off immediately for the medical man, and gave 
help in every way he could. I am not sure (at this 
distance of time), but I think his death took place before 
the morning, and Mr. McNair saw to everything for them, 
as they had no relatives within reach to do so. He had 
always been on most friendly terms, often spending quiet 
evenings with them. 

One day a lady in deep weeds, came with her young 
daughter to the gallery, when they told me that they were 
Mrs. and Miss Corby, and that this was almost their first 
time of coming out at all, but they had felt that they would 
receive more comfort and consolation from me than from 
any one else in the world. They had studied the catalogue 
in its progress through the printing press, and had even 
from the first felt the grandeur of its revelations, but how 
much more did it speak to them when this sudden and 
heavy trial fell upon them ! and what a blessing I felt it 
that I should thus have been the means to speak to their 
souls in readiness for the blow, and as it were, in the very 
moment beforehand. Of course it was a most touching inter- 
view, and remains a very sweet spot in the memory of 
that time. 

I wrote as follows to the Editor of the Medium, Septem- 
ber 4th. — "Dear Sir, — I have received the following letter 
from a gentleman with whom I have not the pleasure of a 
personal acquaintance, but I willingly accede to the sugges- 
tion it contains, during the last two weeks of my exhibition 
(which will close September 22 nd), and I therefore, with 
his permission, forward it for publication, and shall be 
obliged by your making at the same time the necessary 
alteration in the advertisement. 

" I cannot but coincide in his observations as to the 
criticisms of the Press generally, which, with but a few 
exceptions, seem to have been written by those who only 
understand the management of the pen and not of the 
brush, whereas I had formerly really believed that the Art 



104 EVENINGS AT HOME 

critics of the various papers must necessarily have a practi- 
cal knowledge of the subject. — Believe me, yours, &c. 

" Georgiana Houghton." • 
"Will Miss Houghton allow a stranger and a Spiritualist 
to suggest a reduction in the charge for admission to her 
astonishing yet highly interesting exhibition, — say sixpence 
for the remainder of the season, if not too late? This 
might draw many and be serviceable to the cause. Being 
by profession an artist, can I venture to express my con- 
viction that no artist (in the flesh), however eminent, 
can possibly compete (even materially) with the drawings 
in your wonderful and exquisite exhibition? As to the 
remarks of the Spiritual publications upon them, favourable 
they may be, yet they shew a want of knowledge of their 
characteristic manipulations, which are such as any mere 
human artist would in vain endeavour to accomplish. — 
Yours faithfully W. Elliott. 

" 103 Haggekston Road, August -$otk, 1871." 

I wrote thus to the Editor of the Christian Spiritualist, 
August 1 6th : — " Dear Sir, — As my exhibition is on the eve 
of closing, I trust you will allow me in your paper to 
express my earnest hopes that the following idea given in 
the June number of the Spiritual Magazine, at the conclu- 
sion of the article on the subject, may lead to ultimate 
results : — 

" ' The Public Exhibition of Spirit Drawings is a bold 
experiment, we hope it may prove successful. Possibly it 
may prepare the way for one of a more extended kind, in 
which Spirit Drawings through many different mediums 
might be represented. These might be selected and 
arranged under the superintendence of a committee, chosen 
by the mediums themselves, and in whose judgment spiri- 
tualists generally would have confidence. We hope that 
those principally concerned will consider the suggestion.' 

" A society might be formed, as among other artists, and 
I am sure the numerous varieties of style among drawing 
mediums would ensure a considerable amount of interest 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 105 

in such an exhibition, and if it could be held annually, 
there would be a great inducement for every medium to 
pursue the development of their separate phase of art, so 
that each year should evince a decided progress ; and their 
spirit guides also would be anxious to do their utmost, and 
thus many new thoughts would find expression. 

" I think the gallery I have had would be very suitable 
for the purpose, as it is well lighted, and the situation is 
good j perhaps too, the gentleman who has acted as my 
manager might undertake the secretaryship of the society, 
but all that would remain for after consideration. 

"In my case it certainly has not been a financial success ; 
indeed, I have been a considerable loser, but I do not 
think the result would be the same if it were taken up by a 
society of Spiritualists, for they would then each do their 
part by visiting the gallery themselves and inducing their 
friends to do so, whereas the larger proportion of my 
visitors have been those who know scarcely anything of the 
subject, but, generally speaking, they have been deeply 
interested in the spiritual teachings embodied in the 
catalogue, so that I have ample reason to believe that in 
the vital purpose of the exhibition, the success has been 
far beyond what I could have hoped. There have also 
been many who have been so much struck by the har- 
monies of colour and novelties of manipulation, that they 
have come again and again to study the drawings and 
learn some of the working details, the specialities of which 
have been best appreciated by artists, some of whom have 
resolved to try how far they could avail themselves of the 
new methods in their own work. 

" We may also hope that each year will diminish the pre- 
judice against Spiritualism, and now that I have ventured 
to break the ice, it would be a pity to allow the water to 
freeze over it again. Believe me, yours, &c. 

" Georgiana Houghton." 



106 - EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Early in the last week I had another long visit from the 
Rev. Mr. Barrett, who had not been in London since just 
after the opening, and he went through the pictures again 
with redoubled pleasure, having as it were been digesting 
the thought of them through the intervening months. He was 
kindly anxious as to the pecuniary question, with reference 
to which my history was certainly a lamentable one, for I 
had not sold any picture since that single one on the day of 
the Private View. When in our round we had reached the 
Monograms, he astonished me exceedingly by saying that 
he would like me to do his : " Oh ! but do you know it 
will be twenty guineas ? " said I, for I half felt as if the 
proposition could not be a reality. " Indeed I do," was 
his reply, " and I also know that they have a value far 
beyond what any money can compensate for." Shortly 
after that, he took his leave, meaning to pay me another 
visit before the final closing, but he was then going some- 
where into the country, to perform the marriage ceremony 
of a friend. He did come again on the very last day, 
Friday, September 22nd, when he gave me his address (of 
which I had known nothing), and agreed that on his next 
visit to London, he should come to my house to see his 
drawing commenced, writing to me beforehand, so that I 
might appoint the time. He would probably not come up 
for about another month, which would suit me very well, 
as I knew that I was to have a kind of season of rest before 
returning to my easel. 

On that finishing day I had a great many visitors, nearly 
the last of whom was dear Mrs. Ramsay, who had called 
here, but finding I had not returned home, followed me to 
the gallery, for she wanted to consult me on a subject about 
which she was sympathetically anxious; namely, to take 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. T07 

some step towards mitigating my very heavy loss, which, 
when all accounts were eventually balanced, amounted to 
^303. Her plan was to try what could be done by private 
subscription, but she would not enter upon such a step 
without my concurrence ; saying it all to me with the most 
tender consideration so as not to wound my sensibilities. 
I could only with warm gratitude accept her kindly offices, 
but I told her that Mrs. Gregory had before suggested to 
me that I should make such an appeal to the Spiritualists, 
but I had told her that I could not do such a thing. It 
would however be very different if done^r me, so I trusted 
that she would kindly explain the circumstances to Mrs. 
Gregory, which she undertook to do. I was most deeply 
touched by all her tender loving words, which seemed to 
add one more blessing to that dear gallery, and she then 
took her leave, promising to call upon me soon, when she 
should have formed a kind of plan. 

Exactly at six o'clock, Mr. McNair and his assistants 
began the dismantling process of taking down the pictures, 
and removing the hinges by which they had been bound 
together, so that they should be ready for Mr. Spencer, who 
was to be there early the next morning to bring them all 
away. I watched their proceedings for a few short minutes 
with a regretful heart that such a season should ever have 
a close, and then I bade farewell to the gallery as mine. 

Saturday morning came, and I went off to Mr. Spencer's 
in the Harrow Road, laden with my empty portfolios. He 
expected to reach home with the van at about eleven 
o'clock, and when I arrived, they were still unpacking, and 
carrying the pictures to an upstairs room, where we at 
once commenced operations, and, even as I had put every 
picture in to the frames, so now did I take them each out, 
not allowing any other hand to touch them. Mr. Spencer 
and his most trustworthy assistant drew out the nails, and 
removed the back-boards, then I took out the drawing, and 
deposited it in one of the portfolios. We went on steadily 
and methodically, but still it was a work of several hours, 
and I was desperately tired when it was all over, and I was 



I08 EVENINGS AT HOME 

at length packed into a cab with my treasures to bring 
them home just in time for my dinner, and, in classic 
phrase, I felt dead beat. But, after dinner, I had qualms 
of conscience, because of course my drawings had been 
put all irregularly into the portfolios just as they might 
chance to come, so I thought I would begin to do some- 
thing towards an orderly arrangement, therefore in spite of 
previous fatigue I roused myself to work. With a silk 
handkerchief I carefully wiped each picture both front and 
back, so that no speck of dust should adhere to them, 
arranging them by degrees in their orderly sequence, and 
before I went to bed that night, I had the whole array of 
my drawings deposited according to their original system, 
and their portfolios in their old place, exactly as if they 
had never been disturbed ! It was no light work to get 
through without the aid of any fingers but my own ! 

I seem now to have had rather a gay time, going out to 
dinners or to spend the day, in a manner quite unusual 
with me, but I suppose it was as a sort of interlude, before 
settling down into my customary habits of close work. 
Among other entries, I find that I called on Kate Fox, 
who had then just arrived in England, but she was unfor- 
tunately out. However, I had the pleasure, later on, of 
meeting her one evening at Mrs. T.'s, when she willingly 
let us have evidence of her power with reference to the 
raps, which came with wonderful strength and sound upon 
everything on which she laid her hand : — and she puzzled 
the sceptics by allowing them to stand on the other side 
of the closed door, to make themselves quite sure that she 
had no ?7iortal confederate to bestow the blows. 

I had been one day to see Mr. McNair, and brought 
away with me the two natty books in which all the entries 
had been made ; and in the evening I was making out the 
abstract of results, the little parcel lying in my lap (for I 
had opened it, glanced through the books, and partly 
closed it again, not yet requiring them for my purpose), 
when a peculiar feeling that I have heard described, but 
have never experienced save on that one occasion, came 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 109 

over me. It was as if I were, just for a single instant, 
enveloped in a kind of haze or mist, and the thought 
flashed upon me, Something has happened ! what can it 
be ? I looked at once to the parcel in my lap, and one of 
the books was gone ! I could scarcely believe the evidence 
of my own senses, and hunted over the floor and every- 
where for the little volume, but all unavailingly. When 
seeking was proved to be in vain, I applied for information, 
and the explanation that came was most singular. One 
book, that which was left me, was the only one of real 
importance as to my accounts. The other was the one 
kept by the money-taker, and " they " tell me it had thus 
received the impress of every visitor to my gallery, and the 
book has been taken to my spirit home, as an evidence 
against those who did not go, and who, in a certain sense, 
ought to have done so. For instance, those who had 
visited me in my own home, and who have been known to 
say with reference to coming to my exhibition, " Oh ! I 
have seen Miss Houghton's drawings," and it has not struck 
them that in return for my courtesy, they might have 
extended me a helping hand. During that time I did 
indeed realise the value of each separate shilling, especially 
when on some days so very few would come in. Once 
there was but one single shilling, and the average of daily 
expenses came to £4. I have to narrate these things 
because people are but too apt to forget that life is made 
up of small details, and while waiting to do great benefits 
to their friends, they overlook the tiny channel which they 
may help to fill. 

On the 25th of October Mr. Barrett made his appearance 
soon after one o'clock, and we had a nice long afternoon 
together while the monogram grew ; and he gave me many 
interesting details of his mesmeric experiences, the cures 
he had effected, and the revelations given through some of 
his clairvoyant patients ; so the hours flew rapidly with us 
both. He had brought his cheque-book, and handed me 
the amount at once, lest, as he said, anything should 
happen to prevent a settlement. I was not to hurry myself 



110 EVENINGS AT HOME 

over the drawing, especially if any other commission should 
fortunately come in, besides which, he hoped I would pro- 
ceed with the symbolical one on which I had been at work 
on the home Wednesdays of my gallery time, and that I 
was going to endeavour to exhibit. 

Mrs. Ramsay came to tell me that she had consulted 
with several friends, and they had drawn up the following 
paper. Her own real contribution was ;£io, but she 
thought it might seem like ostentation to head it with that 
sum, and might likewise deter others whose means were 
limited from giving the small amount that they might wish 
to do as a help for Spiritualism ; so she then brought me 
£&, which she most kindly begged me to consider as a 
part of the sum in question, and subscribed her name for 
two guineas to the paper privately circulated. 

" The friends of Miss Houghton having heard that she 
has been a great loser by the Exhibition of her ' Spirit 
Drawings ' are very anxious to help her in paying for the 
Room in which the Pictures were exhibited. Miss 
Houghton hoped to pay the expenses of the Gallery, &c, 
with the Entrance-money — in this she has been disap- 
pointed — it is therefore earnestly requested that Spiritualists 
will kindly support the object for which this paper is 
circulated." 

Dear, warm-hearted Mrs. Ramsay ! her efforts were very 
successful, for the sum ultimately amounted to ^50, includ- 
ing her own ;£io, and two ^5 notes contributed by anxious 
friends, and I must here express my gratitude not only to 
her, but to all those whose names were inscribed on the 
list I received from her, which I of course copied into my 
own records. 

I was indeed glad to see Mrs. T. on her return from 
the United States. Her first visit here was on the 29th of 
November, when she told me that on the previous evening 
she had been thinking much about me, and then she had 
heard the same message repeated to her over and over 
again. She enquired whether she was to mention it to me, 
and received an affirmative answer. It was, "Tell Miss 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. Ill 

Houghton that she must not expect the fruit till the branches 
come : — the root is planted." The message referred to her 
vision of the rfafe-tree on the 3rd of February. 

I sent the following letter to the Editor of the Spiritual 
Magazine ; — " Dear Sir, — Will you allow me once more to 
revert to your suggestion for an extended Exhibition of 
Spirit Drawings, as I find there are many persons who look 
upon it as a very desirable step; and I have, therefore, 
endeavoured to gain all the information I could as to the 
method by which it may be accomplished. 

" Mr. McNair, who has acted as manager and secretary for 
my exhibition, and has had much experience in similar 
arrangements, would be willing to undertake the working 
details, and he tells me that the usual plan is for a sum to 
be guaranteed sufficient to meet the working expenses, say 
by subscribers of ^5 each ; then there must be one gentle- 
man who will undertake the duty of treasurer, and at least 
three or five who will finally form themselves into a hang- 
ing committee, and perhaps for that purpose some artists 
may kindly volunteer, who already have experience in that 
line. It will also be requisite to know if the pictures will 
be forthcoming, and whether the numerous artist mediums 
will kindly do their utmost to ensure a successful result, by 
contributing their works for the purpose. I shall be happy 
to send, perhaps, a dozen of mine, or more if they should 
be wished for, and I have also six or seven drawings by 
other mediums, which I shall have much pleasure in lend- 
ing, and perhaps other Spiritualists may be able to do the 
same, even if not artists themselves. 

"The more I have heard on the subject during the four 
months that my gallery has been open, the more convinced 
I am that a very interesting collection may be made, and I 
would still urge its being held annually, when we may hope 
that Spiritualists from all parts of the world will unite in 
contributing to it. Some persons may question the utility 
of spiritual art, or indeed art of any kind, whether poetry, 
painting or music, spiritual or unspiritual, but we need in 
this world something more than mere food and clothing ; 



112 EVENINGS AT HOME 

and drawing is one method by which our invisible friends 
have illustrated many new thoughts. I remember that Mr. 
Varley, in the latter end of 1863, put some question with 
reference to comets (while he and I were sitting alone), 
and through my hand a drawing was executed, which I did 
not at all comprehend, but he said he did, and that it 
answered his question. 

"May I ask such of your readers as are willing to co-operate 
in this undertaking to send a few lines to R. F. McNair, 
Esq., Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, either as contributors of 
pictures, and how many, or as guarantors to the extent of 
jQ$ (which will not be required until 1872), and perhaps 
in the course of the next month some idea may be formed 
as to whether there is any probability of the plan being 
really brought to an issue, not forgetting the necessity for 
working volunteers as committee, &c. — Believe me, yours, 
&c. Georgiana Houghton." 

My letter was written in October, and a month later, Mr. 
McNair sent the following to the Editor of the Medium : — 
" Dear Sir, — Deeply interested as you are in Spiritualism, 
no doubt you will be anxious to know how the proposed 
exhibition of spirit-drawings is progressing. I regret to 
inform you that up to the present time I have only received 
the names of three guarantors of ^5, and not a single offer 
of pictures or drawings ; however, it may be from the failing 
that artists have of leaving everything to the eleventh hour. 
It may be wise in some instances to do so, but there is so 
very much preliminary work in getting up an exhibition, 
that it would be an act of kindness on the part of the pro- 
posed exhibitors to make known their intentions as early as 
possible. Thanking you for the very kind interest you 
evince in the project, — I am, dear Sir, yours truly, 

"Robert F. McNair." 
[" We think the intelligence this letter contains is of a very 
hopeful kind, and no doubt sufficient discussion of the 
question will call forth the necessary amount of co-opera- 
tion. — Ed. M."] Notwithstanding the hopeful view Mr. 
Burns took of the subject, it finally ended there ; but I am 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. . 113 

still glad that I made all the enquiries on the subject that 
I did, for it may even be that years hence the project may 
again be mooted, and may meet with a more enthusiastic 
reception, and it may then be well to have some glimmer- 
ing notions as to the needful steps to be taken. 

On New Year's Day, 1872, 1 took my new drawing to the 
Dudley Gallery in the hope of its admission to that ex- 
hibition. It was a lovely symbolical Eye, but I had heeded 
the prejudices of my objectors, and had entitled it, " May 
It watch over you ; " motto on an old seal. But alas ! at 
the expiration of a week, I had to bring it away — and I was 
extremely amused to learn that one of the accusations 
against it was, that it had been executed by the planchette ! 
It would indeed have been yet infinitely more marvellous 
if that amazing amount of exquisitely tinted and beautifully 
fine work could have been achieved by that little wooden 
instrument ! surely whoever said it could never have seen 
a planchette, or they could not have uttered such an 
absurdity. 

On Monday, January 15th, Mrs. T. came to see me, 
and in course of conversation mentioned that a day or two 
previously she had been saying something to her daughter 
about the American spirit photographs, wondering whether 
they would ever be produced in England. She was hardly 
aware of having lost consciousness, and not more than five 
minutes could have elapsed when the control passed off, 
and her daughter, who was much impressed, told her that 
she had been speaking about the photographs and had 
said that u they would come to Miss Houghton." 

We sat talking, I holding her hands, in which almost 
from the first I felt little jerks, as if some influence were 
passing into her from me, but we were in such deep con- 
versation that she did not perceive it for some time, but 
then she said, " What a strong power I feel coming from 
you, and it is now going through my hands and arms up 
to my head." I was then impressed to mesmerise her 
slightly, when she passed immediately under influence, 
and said : 

H 



114 EVENINGS AT HOME 

" I see a sheaf of wheat very full of grain, it curls as it 
hangs down very much weighted. The kernels of wheat 
are all opening and shewing me what a large kernel of 
wheat is enclosed; they open like wings. The wheat is 
falling into a white vase ; it seems to be thrown in, though 
I can't see what makes it go. They have filled the vase, 
and now they are scattering the rest, throwing it a long 
way on every side, or it seems to be blown as by wind ; and 
now it is gone, and the kernels are all taken from the 
sheaf and it is fallen down. It stood before, like a person, 
and when first I saw it, it bowed and seemed to recognise 
people like a person." [Do they tell you anything about 
it ?] " The seed that was scattered has taken root, and I 
see large fields about so high (from about nine to twelve 
inches), and when that wheat is fully matured, then the 
vase of wheat that is saved will be sown in distant places." 
[May you tell me what is meant by the wheat ?] " It is the 
fruit of the work already accomplished by you. You have 
done what is typified by the scattering abroad of what 
remained after the measure was filled. Do not at present 
sow the same ground over, as what you have done has 
taken root, and will in due time yield abundantly. The 
best grains were selected for the vase, and those must be 
kept for special work. A soil is even now in preparation, 
and when conditions are just right you will be impressed to 
sow a little of this precious grain. The best grains were 
plucked from the sheaf first, and those lie at the bottom of 
the vase, which has an actual existence. ... A change in 
the direction of your work is typified by the laying aside of 
the sheaf, which has done its work." [Was that the Gal- 
lery ?] " And all that went before." [Is that as an answer 
to my question ?] " The Gallery and all that went before. 
— Many individuals are willing to sow — few are content to 
wait for growth. In due time, according to your work and 
your faith, you shall reap." She then awoke with a slight 
start, and asked if she had been talking, so I read it over to 
her, but she only remembered having seen a sheaf of 
wheat, and some fields of poppies beyond it, and I often 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 115 

find that she has a glimmering recollection of the very 
commencement of her visions. 

It was afterwards explained to me by my own instructors 
that while the grains of wheat typify the full rich Truths 
given by the spirit world, the poppy fields represent the 
large masses of gaudy weeds of which a considerable pro- 
portion of the spiritual manifestations and teachings consist, 
attracting the eyes and the senses without reaching or 
strengthening the inner life ; but the wheat and the weeds 
both grow, and both do their work. 

While copying this long-ago prophecy I am wonderfully 
struck by realizing how speedy was its fulfilment. At that 
time I of course thought that I should go on at least as 
steadily as ever with my artistic work, and yet, early in the 
March of that same year, an absolute " change in the 
direction of my work " took place ; for the spirit photo- 
graphy arose, engrossing my time gradually" more and more, 
so that the "sheaf" appeared to be utterly "laid aside." 
The history of that phase of my mediumship is given in 
a separate volume, so that I am only likely to allude to 
it now and then incidentally in this, but I may not omit 
all mention of it, or these Evenings at Home would fail 
to represent my full life since I began to receive in my 
innermost soul the certainty of God's daily and hourly 
supervision. 

And about my Gallery ! my beloved Exhibition ! Heavy 
as was the loss, never for one moment have I experienced 
a shadow of regret for having undertaken it. I threw my- 
self and my substance heart and soul into God's Treasury, 
and not one fraction would I wish to withdraw. People 
have sometimes said to me, " You did it at a wrong time ; 
if you had waited a few years, the subject might have 
become more popular." . . . No, I did it at the right time, 
for then I had the money, which would have melted away 
in daily needs as the years sped on. What went into it 
was all and entirely my own. There could never since that 
very moment have been a possibility of my having the 
wherewithal to attempt so arduous an undertaking. Hard, 



Il6 EVENINGS AT HOME 

and indeed I may say, sorely bitter, have since been my 
pecuniary trials, coming each year with gradually increasing 
pressure upon me, but still I have ever recognised that it 
has been God's Hand working His own purposes, and that 
if it should be His Will I should still be upheld through 
it all, whereas even if I had been let apparently to fall, I 
should never have doubted that it was for my ultimate best. 
Thanks be to His loving care, in my deepest straits, help 
has ever come, even if only sufficient to meet the day's 
absolute needs, but somehow the morrow's have afterwards 
been provided, and thus He has sustained His handmaiden, 
almost, as it has seemed, from hour to hour. 

Before giving the account of my next seance, I must 
make an extract from the Spiritualist of March 15th. 
" The following strange story is taken from the South 
London Courier of March 2nd, 1872. It is printed in that 
journal in large type, and on the leading article page : — 
' In the present day it is rare to hear of a bona fide ghost ; 
but the following story is authenticated in a private circle 
of friends, to some relations of whom the ghost made 
his attentions particularly disagreeable. It is, of course, 
impossible to vouch for the exact truth of every detail of 
the ghostly story ; but the facts are fully believed and 
certified by the circle above alluded to. The facts are as 
follows : — A few months ago a couple about to be married 
took a house in Berkeley Square, and upon concluding the 
transfer, &c, they were solemnly warned by the agent that 
a certain room in the house was haunted by a ghost. Of 
this they thought nothing, however, but, partly out of 
curiosity and partly out of necessity, the mother of the bride 
said she would have no fear to sleep in the haunted room, 
as she was at the house superintending the arrival of 
furniture, &c. The brave lady was not alone in the house 
at the time of her venture — there were two or three servants 
also sleeping there. At the usual time the lady retired. 
Nothing alarming was heard by the servants during the 
night ; but the next morning, when they went to call up 
their mistress, they found her dead — in her bed — with open 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 1 7 

eyes wildly staring at the ceiling. A medical man, who was 
called in, could give no satisfactory cause of death, which 
seemed to have taken place through some violent shock 
to the brain and nerves. But the newly-married couple, 
much shocked as they were by the untimely death of their 
relative, were quite incredulous as to its having been caused 
by any supernatural agency, or that the supposed ghost had 
anything to do with it ; nay, even the husband of the lady 
said that he would have no objection to sleep in the haunted 
room, and he at length prevailed upon his wife to consent 
to his making trial of the powers of the ghost. But the 
lady stipulated that she should sleep outside the room in the 
adjoining passage, and that she should have the protection 
of a fierce bull-dog and a pair of pistols, while two police- 
men were to be within call in another room. The gentleman 
retired to rest without any anxiety, the only precaution he 
took being the taking with him a pair of revolvers, in case 
of any emergency. He also agreed to ring a bell twice 
should the ghost appear, and he require the assistance of 
the police. About half-past twelve p.m. the anxious wife 
heard the bell ring, first rather rapidly, and then faintly and 
feebly. She flew into the haunted room and found her 
husband dead, with his eyes fixedly gazing at the ceiling. 
Such are the facts. We have not inserted a story merely to 
gratify our readers, but we have simply recounted the facts 
as they actually happened. We do not believe in ghosts, 
and we have no doubt that the whole mystery will ere long 
be cleared up ; but until we hear the explanation, we can- 
not help thinking the story a very remarkable one.' We 
wrote to the editor of the South London Courier, Mr. J. E. 
Muddock, of 121 Fleet Street, and asked him for informa- 
tion which would enable us to enquire into and verify the 
strict accuracy of the narrative. Last Monday we received 
a reply, in which he stated : — ' While not being able to give 
you names and particulars at present respecting the Berkeley 
Square ghost, I vouch for the accuracy of the facts as 
narrated, and you are at liberty to use my name, if you 
think proper.' In a subsequent letter, Mr. Muddock says : 



Il8 EVENINGS AT HOME 

— 'I believe that in each case a coroner's inquest was 
held, and the verdict returned was Died by the Visitation 
of God: " 

I had a strong impression during the necessary furniture- 
movings in preparation for our seance on the 20th of April, 
that it would be the last held here of that character, or at 
least that a very long time might elapse ere I should have 
another, but I did not mention the feeling to the friend who 
was staying with me, for I scarcely liked putting it into 
words, and our chief conversation was on the subject of the 
spirit photography, which was beginning to engross me very 
completely. Our circle was composed of Mrs. Ramsay, 
Miss S., Mrs. T., Mrs. Guppy, Miss Leith, Miss Alice 
Leith, and myself. 

After we had said The Lord's Prayer, we sat in quiet 
conversation, when Mrs T. said the very thing that had 
been running in my mind, and expressed the feeling that 
this was to be the last of these seances ; and then I said 
how powerfully the same thought had been asserting itself 
all day. Mrs. Guppy exclaimed very much against the idea, 
unless indeed she were going to die, but she did not think 
that was likely. We could but leave the future to shew it 
forth in due course, knowing that it would be worked for 
the best. Mrs. T. saw and described Mrs. Ramsay's 
son, Jim, with his hand resting on his mother's shoulder, 
and on it was a ring, which she says will be photographed. 
The ring contained a deep blue stone, which sparkled as 
much as a diamond, and was a sapphire. On it were two 
letters which she had some difficulty in making out : they 
were J and I, and she added that the two letters united 
formed a third, and thus we understood that it made Jim 
all in one monogram J"). Mrs. T. said that the stone 
signified purity of life, which knowledge would give comfort : 
she was in a kind of semi-trance at the time, but roused 
almost immediately. 

I asked her how they were succeeding in their quest for 
a house (they were then living in the Rochester Road), 
and she said they had seen one in Oakley Square which 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 119 

had seemed in many respects suitable, but that she thought 
it was haunted, for both she and Mr. T. had heard rust- 
ling movements follow them as they looked through it. I 
observed that they seemed fated to dwell in haunted houses, 
for the one they had lived in before coming to the Rochester 
Road had been very terribly so. She thought it might lead 
to difficulties with the servants as had been the case at 
Dalston. Some one suggested that the children might be 
alarmed, but Mrs. T. said that they would have no fears, 
it was only about the servants that she had any misgivings. 
I said that perhaps the hauntings were harmless, and would 
not trouble any of them, to which we had assenting raps. 
The conversation then turned naturally to the fatal events 
in the haunted house in Berkeley Square, where two deaths 
followed one after the other. 

It then became a question as to whether the persons had 
died of fright, but I said I believed they had been 
murdered by malignant spirits — " Yes " was rapped out, 
and we debated whether it would be possible to free the 
place from such influences, which I thought it would. 
Then I was asked if I would be willing to sleep in the 
room, but I said that in the abstract, I could not answer 
that question positively, but I could assert that I would do 
it willingly and fearlessly if I were told by my own guides 
to do so. To which some one added that the two persons 
of whom we had been speaking had trusted only to their 
own courage. There now came a request from our invisible 
friends for the alphabet. " Read a chapter." [Which ? ] 
" St Luke." I was then to say the numbers, and they 
rapped at ten. [The whole of it ? ] " No." The verses 
were to be from the 17th to the 24th, and while I was 
reading, the spirits assented strongly at different parts. 
"And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, 
even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name 
(raps). And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as light- 
ning fall from heaven. Behold I give unto you power to 
tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of 
the enemy (raps) ; and nothing shall by any means hurt 



120 EVENINGS AT HOME 

you (very powerful raps). Notwithstanding in this rejoice 
not, that the spirits are subject unto you ; but rather rejoice, 
because your names are written in heaven (raps). In that 
hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank Thee, O 
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these 
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
unto babes : even so, Father ; for so it seemed good in Thy 
sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father : and 
no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father ; and who 
the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will 
reveal Him (raps). And He turned Him unto His disciples, 
and said privately, Blessed are the eyes that see the things 
that ye see (strong raps) : for I tell you, that many pro- 
phets and kings have desired to see those things which 
ye see, and have not seen them (raps) ; and to hear those 
things which ye hear, and have not heard them " (raps). 

We were all much struck with the marvellous adaptation 
of these verses to the various points of our discussion, and 
we are indeed thankful for the wondrous blessings vouch- 
safed to us. 

After a time the alphabet was again asked for, and they 
spelt—" Miss, — walk." I named each person in rotation, 
and learnt that it was to be Miss Alice Leith : they then 
gave four raps to indicate the number of times she was to 
walk round the circle ; and when she had done it once, we 
were sprinkled with most delicious perfume, which seemed 
to fall more and more lavishly. Then flowers were 
showered upon us : — wallflowers and other scented 
blossoms, while to me were brought some everlasting 
flowers, which appeared like a reminder of my first birth- 
day seance in this house, when my spirit friends crowned 
me with a wreath of everlasting flowers, and at a seance on 
Mamma's birthday of the same year, the same kind of 
flowers were given to me, with the message, " Faithful can 
only have everlastings." 

Alice told us that she had been promised flower medium- 
ship, if she would sit regularly every day, in the dark, for a 
month, which she has never yet been able to do, although 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 121 

she has tried several times, but some hindrance has always 
arisen before the completion of the stipulated time, so 
perhaps the walking round the circle may have been 
intended to assist in her development. 

One of the tubes was taken up, and brought close to my 
cheek, so that I felt the breath of the spirit who spoke to 
me, saying that "orange blossom and acorn had been put 
into her hair : the first meant marriage, and the acorn pros- 
perity." Alice then said that something had been put into 
her hair, and when we had the light, we found that it was 
a little bridal favour of orange blossom, oak leaves and an 
acorn. (On the 15th of May, Mrs. Leith and her daughters 
called, and Alice told me that she had received the 
interpretation of her bridal favour, for that she had been 
invited to be bridesmaid to Miss Chalmers, who was going 
to make a very wealthy marriage, thus fulfilling the symbol 
of the acorn as well as the orange blossom.) 

We were then told to have supper, and that afterwards 
Mrs. T. would have a trance ; so when we returned into 
this room, she and I seated ourselves at the little table as 
we do when we are alone, Mrs. Guppy being behind me, 
Mrs. Ramsay and Miss S. behind Mrs. T., and the two 
Miss Leiths at the larger table. I mesmerised her, and 
she soon passed under influence, and said : " He is shew- 
ing me a long road, and the stones along that road. One 
of the stones is broken. Each stone marks a year for 
each one." 

There was a change of voice, and a prophecy was given 
as to a specified date ; which prophecy gave me much 
anxiety. It was eventually fulfilled to the day and the very 
hour, although in quite a different manner to what I had 
understood, but the whole circumstances of that time have 
been most wonderful to look back upon. Turning to 
another, she said, ..." Your stone is straight, apparently 
firm, but there is a defect near the top : with care the 
stone will last longer." . . . 

Turning again to me, with a perception that I was 
troubled, she said : " Sometimes it is seen that a work 



122 EVENINGS AT HOME 

begun, and well begun here, can be better finished or 
carried on by changing the conditions surrounding the 
human life. . . . There are few so faithful to their work, 
and so able to continue that work in this life as yourself, 
and it is permitted for you to know that you may expect 
a long life here. It will be a long life most usefully filled, 
but as the years pass on — as many years pass, and you 
come to this day (my birthday anniversary), there will 
come an hour when you will feel to say, ' I am lonely — 
those I most love wait for me — I am willing to work here, 
but, O Lord, if it be Thy Will, when my best work is 
finished, let me also depart, that I may be a little nearer 
those I most love.' In one sense you take up a Cross in 
living the long life before you, but as is the Cross behold 
the Crown ! — The work you have at heart (the spirit- 
photographs) will be carried on, but not quite in the way 
you have thought. My ways are not your ways, saith the 
Lord, neither are My thoughts your thoughts : — man pro- 
poses, God disposes." I said, [I only wish to follow as I 
am taught.] " It is well, if you add also, — as you are led" 
[Oh ! yes, that is what I mean.] 

Taking the hand of Mrs. Ramsay, she continued : " There 
are those who watch and wait, and you feel sometimes so 
drawn to them that you say, ' If it be Thy Will, I am 
willing to go : ' — you are drawn from this side too : when 
the grief is less bitter you say, ' I am willing to live or 
willing to die, The Lord strengthening me.' There are 
trials still to come, but as hitherto, you will be able to 
meet them. You are one called to die many times for 
those you love : be thankful for the strength given, and 
rejoice -when you may take the Cross instead of those less 
able to bear it. You may send a message, a love thought, 
and it shall go far beyond that milestone where they wait, 
ready when you reach that place to lighten death for you. 

" If it is desired, the hand of the medium may be taken, 
and something of the future may be, if best, revealed ; but 
it is seldom wise to seek such knowledge : at long and very 
rare intervals it is sometimes permitted that a chosen few 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. I 23 

may look forward." I said that we did not wish to seek 
into anything, but were content to accept any revelation 
that might be voluntarily granted ; to which she answered ; 
" Not to seek, but patiently to do each duty as it comes, is 
true wisdom, that wisdom which is of The Lord." 

Mrs. Guppy had felt ill, so she had quietly slipped away 
without disturbing the trance, she was therefore not present 
to hear the part addressed to her — or rather, of her : 
" Elizabeth, while seemingly more enwrapped in her daily 
life, will find the ties which hold her, and which in a 
measure confine her, being surely loosed ; there has been 
a change within the year just passed, and in one that is to 
come, she may expect a similar change : she will be taken 
care of, and will pass safely through the trial : her stone is 
firm, and will scarcely be shaken. 

" Each day, each hour, and each minute should be so 
lived as though that portion of time were the last for that 
life, and no mometit in a true life should be wasted either in 
regrets or in anticipation of any possible future. There is 
plenty of time, for what is Eternity but Time lengthened ? 
Think of Time as your most precious gift : one moment is 
worth all the jewels in the Queen's crown : think then of 
the value, if you can, of the days, weeks, and years, of a 
long and useful life : as those moments are spent, as those 
moments are used." — She was speaking very forcibly, and 
I think thus roused herself, for she suddenly awoke, and 
said, " I was seeing rows of pearls, and I thought they were 
being brought in." 

Our marvellous seance was then brought to a close, and 
the forecasting of Mrs. T. and myself proved correct, for 
upwards of nine years have since elapsed, and I have never 
held another dark seance in this house, and indeed, all the 
thicknesses of curtains that I used for darkening the room, 
have latterly been applied to other purposes. The promise 
of the photographed monogram was also fulfilled. 



124 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER IX. 

I have alluded in the preceding chapter to Mrs. T.'s 
Dalston experience in a haunted house, but of course, after 
all these years, she could only give me fragmentary reminis- 
cences, but I told her yesterday evening that I was now 
going to give some details about it, and I then heard some 
particulars that were new to me. 

The first occurrence took place one evening while she 
and Mr. T. were sitting in the garden, when there came 
a sound like the firing off of a pistol from one of the upper 
windows ; when of course they both ran in great alarm into 
the house, to discover the perpetrator, thinking that thieves 
must have broken in, but all was quite quiet and undis- 
turbed, and notwithstanding their rigorous search no one 
was to be found. . . . There would be noises as of scuffling 
and struggling, then a sound as of heavy footsteps of 
several persons coming down the stairs, as if dragging a 
something heavy down each stair, which she describes as 
resembling the thud of a thick roll of carpet. There was a 
flight of stairs above their bedroom as well as below, and 
down both flights the weight would be dragged. She has 
sometimes opened the bedroom door and looked out, but 
nothing was to be seen, and the sound was not stayed by 
her presence. . . . There would be like pistol-shots fired 
in their bedroom, when they both not only heard the 
detonation, but would see the flash. It would sometimes 
awaken them from their sleep, producing a quickening of 
the heart-beats with Mr. T., but she says she always 
awoke with a prayerful aspiration for the unhappy ones. 
There was one spirit whose clasp would come on her throat, 
even in the daytime, as if to throttle her, and — whatever 
she might be doing at the time — she would at once go to 
her room and kneel by the bedside in prayer that the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. I 25 

perturbed soul might receive help, when the grasp would 
relax ; and by degrees that manifestation entirely ceased. 
The struggling noises were the most heard in the children's 
room, and people have said, — Did she not fear to leave the 
children there lest harm should come to them, — and her 
answer would be that on the contrary she thought the atmos- 
phere of those two innocent darlings would be likely to help 
and to soften the unhappy ones. On one occasion while 
they were all out of town, they engaged a man in whom they 
had confidence, to sleep in the house as a safeguard against 
burglars. He did it for two nights, but then declared that 
nothing should induce him to do so again ; and the next 
night he slept under the verandah, so they had to come up 
to town and make fresh arrangements. Towards the latter 
part of their residence there they were almost undisturbed, 
and I believe that to have been the result of her prayerful 
intercessions. In the winter, and about Christmas time, 
the disturbances were generally louder and more frequent. 

Just at this moment I seem to have the subject of 
hauntings brought strongly before me, for a day or two ago, 
Mr. Debenham kindly sent me the photograph mentioned 
in the following account, which I received about a year and 
a half ago from Sir Charles Isham. 

Mr. Easton, the eminent miniature artist, when staying at 

Th Hall, July 1872, was disturbed next morning after 

arrival, by a woman in the room. He told her she had 
made a mistake, whereupon she soon left. On mentioning 
this, the owner, Mr. G., apologised for having inadvertently 
given him that room, as July was the month in which a 
similar figure had frequently been seen in the room, but 
that his apartment should be changed. Mr. Easton, with 
great credit to himself, begged to be allowed to remain, as 
not being a believer in ghosts, he wished to have an 
opportunity of observing a phenomenon of such transcend- 
ant interest. He was rewarded by the figure coming at 
three o'clock for seven nights, and remaining some twenty 
minutes, whilst he made a water-colour drawing, of about 
six or seven inches, for which he has been offered ^"50. Mr. 



126 EVENINGS AT HOME 

Easton tells me he could not copy it, but photographs are 
to be had of it at Debenham's, 158 Regent Street, price 
two shillings and sixpence. The figure appeared to have 
been having a desperate struggle : the room and foot of 
bed are correctly drawn. The mouth was not fixed. 

Mr. G., the owner of the property, partly revealed a story 

of a member of the family, " The wicked Mrs. L ," who 

died in 1792, after confessing to the murder of the child 
heir, by which means she obtained the estate and ruined it. 
The room is now closed up, and the house is let. The 
form has been seen by about sixty persons, and as the 
servants would not enter the room, a person in the neigh- 
bourhood was engaged to make the bed. 

In addition to the above narrative, I subjoin what was 
in Sir Charles's accompanying letter. 

" Mr. Easton would not allow me to publish the account 
of the ghost, neither can I give the name of the place 
where it was seen. I enclose a slight statement which was 
submitted to him, and he pronounces it correct ; except 
that I omitted to say that a lady who saw the picture, said 
it was the exact likeness of the picture of the person men- 
tioned, in another house, which Mr. Easton had not seen." 

The portrait is by no means prepossessing : the eyes are 
staring, and the mouth open ; but all the more does it 
carry the tale of crime unrepented, even remorse being as 
yet unawakened, although eighty years had passed on since 
that sinful soul had quitted its tenement of flesh, and yet 
she is still bound to the scene of her iniquity, the posses- 
sion of which was her temptation to commit it. Are there 
none of her own blood who may strive to arouse her soul 
to the knowledge of a Pitiful God to Whom such as even 
she may look for pardon and peace ? But there are loving 
ones whom perhaps these words may touch, and to them the 
mission may be given to pour balm into her self-inflicted 
wounds. 

The day before yesterday I received a letter from Miss 
Walker of Cleckheaton, containing another history of a 
haunted house that she had just heard from an old lady on 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 27 

a visit in the neighbourhood, who has scruples about her 
name being mentioned, so I will call her Mrs. A. " She 
lived within a few miles of Leeds, and frequently, before 
she had retired to rest, although she had herself fastened 
the gate, a horse would be heard coming at full speed right 
up to the house door ; but nothing would be visible, and on 
examination, the gate was always found fast. . . . Noises 
were heard where there was nothing to account for them, 
and they generally seemed to proceed from a particular 
closet or cupboard. For a considerable time Mr. A. tried 
to persuade his wife that it was imagination, though he 
well knew that she was neither nervous nor superstitious, 
but he wished her not to mention the matter for fear of 
creating a rumour that the house was haunted. There 
was one night that she says she can never forget. On her 
bedroom door was a latch that was never left unfastened : 
the latch made a noise in being undone that was not to be 
mistaken for any other sound. They had retired for the 
night, when both husband and wife heard the latch undone, 
and a pair of not very light feet walk into the room and 
to the foot of the bed (hung with furniture-print, closely 
drawn), and Mrs. A. indistinctly saw what she thought was 
a man put the curtains quite back. Not having had a 
visit of that kind before, she thought only of robbers, and 
was quite sure that some one had got into the house. Mr. 
A. must have had some impression that the visitor was 
from the unseen source of the strange knocks, for he wished 
her to keep still, but she was sure thieves were in the house, 
and sprang out of bed, determined to save their belong- 
ings; but excepting the open door and the drawn-back 
curtain, all was exactly the same as they had left things on 
going to bed. ' Now,' said she to her husband, ' will you 
believe?' And he answered that he never would again 
doubt that the house was haunted. She said that during 
the last two years of her residing there, the sounds had 
ceased, and on my asking how she accounted for that, she 
told me that when she was quite a young woman, a gentle- 
man had lived in that house who was in the habit of going 



128 EVENINGS AT HOME 

to Leeds on horseback. One night the horse returned to 
the very spot where it was customary for his master to dis- 
mount, but no master was on his back. He had had too 
much to drink, and it was thought that he had fallen off 
his horse, for he was found in the road dead. Mrs. A. 
accounted for the cessation of the noises, by inferring that 
they had probably lasted until the period that ought to have 
been the term of his natural life." 

It is the conclusion arrived at by Mrs. A., that has 
induced me to copy the narrative, for it was doubtless 
upon the calculation of dates that she founded her theory, 
which tallies with the information given to us in our seance 
of December 31st, 1870, where the suicide had been 
doomed to walk during the fulfilment of the number of 
years that he had cut off from the term apportioned to 
him : — and the lesson that this seems to teach is, that the 
drunkard had in like manner committed suicide by render- 
ing himself incapable of taking care of his life ! That fatal, 
fatal sin of drink ! the curse of our fair land ! Mighty 
efforts are being made to eradicate it ; may We all work 
towards that end, each giving the little bit of help in the 
way of strengthening counsel that may come in our power. 
"A word spoken in due season, how good is it," 

On the 1 st of April, I once more took a pair of drawings 
to the Royal Academy, with the hope of their acceptance 
for exhibition. In addition to the "May It watch over 
you," I now had the lovely monogram in iridescent tints of 
Mr. Barrett, with full permission to mention his name in 
connexion with it. But disappointment again ensued, and 
although I know that such a result must be what was best 
for me, it has only been in the looking back to those days 
that the fact has been shewn to me, for the spirit photo- 
graphy gradually in various ways occupied the whole of my 
time ; and had I obtained commissions for pictures, either 
the one phase or the other of my work, or perhaps both, 
might have suffered by the divided attention. 

In one of the learned criticisms on my own Exhibition 
occurs the following paragraph, which rather amused me at 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 1 29 

the time, because the non-mention of a fact is certainly no 
proof of its //^-existence, besides which / have heard of 
similar personal flowers having been drawn by mediums, as 
well as seen and described by clairvoyants, and it may be 
that if all literature had been read, it might have been met 
with, as in my succeeding quotation. " There is a possi- 
bility that Miss Houghton accepts literally, teachings 
intended to be symbolical. ... In all (?) the English and 
American literature of Spiritualism there is no corroborative 
testimony as to the objective reality of flowers such as Miss 
Houghton believes her drawings to represent, but if the 
drawings and their explanations be regarded as symbolical 
... as others would doubtless define them to be, there is 
no doubt that the teachings are most of them very pure 
and good." Now, about a twelvemonth ago I was reading 
"Isis Unveiled," where Madame Blavatsky (vol. i. page 
601) narrates a Chinese legend from Schott's " Essay on 
Buddhism in China and Upper Asia : " and in a foot-note 
refers to my Exhibition thus, " Colonel Yule makes a 
remark in relation to the above Chinese mysticism which 
for its noble fairness we quote most willingly :■■ — ' In 187 1,' he 
says, ' I saw in Bond Street an exhibition of the (so-called) 
spirit drawings, i.e., drawings executed by a mediiwi under 
extraneous and invisible guidance. A number of these 
extraordinary productions (for extraordinary they were un- 
doubtedly) professed to represent the " Spiritual Flowers " 
of such and such persons, and the explanation of these as 
presented in the catalogue was in substance exactly that given 
in the text. It is highly improbable that the artist had any 
cognizance of Schott's Essays, and the coincidence was cer- 
tainly very striking.' " (The Book of Ser Marco Polo, vol. 
i. p. 444.) 

In the course of the photographic work, I had some 
correspondence with an authoress of popular literature, and 
I must quote a fragment from one of her letters. "Thank 
you very much for so kindly sending me the catalogue, 
which I shall value much more than the one I have treasured 
ever since that memorable visit to Bond Street in 187 1. I 

1 



130 EVENINGS AT HOME 

believe that was the first day I was impressed with the con- 
viction that there was more in Spiritualism than the light foam 
which shewed the direction of the stream. The drawings 
filled me with a vague, mysterious feeling of wonderment 
that so many distinct drawings could have been produced 
without any apparent evidence of design, and which seemed 
something altogether beyond the conception of any mere 
mortal hand and brain. ... I am very anxious to go to 
London for many reasons, and one of the most prominent, 
that I may become personally acquainted with you." Her 
visit to the gallery had been on a Wednesday. 

When Mrs. T. came to see me on the 29th of November, 
immediately after her return from America, where she had 
been during almost the whole of my Exhibition, having 
started within a fortnight after the opening, she exclaimed, 
"Your home feels just the same; I feel no kind of change 
in it, and I had thought there would have been a great 
deal, as you have been all this time so prominently before 
the world, mixing so much with strangers, but it feels as if 
neither you nor your pictures had ever stirred from here." 

I mention this now, because to-day (April 3rd, 1872), 
when I have been for a month all but a day engaged in 
this new phase of spirit-photography, and had on Thursday 
last received the wonderful manifestations of the Palm and 
the Cross (see "Chronicles," page 12), her exclamation 
soon after entering the.room, was, "Oh ! what a difference 
I feel in you : it is as if you were much fuller of life in some 
way." I said, " Well, you see, I have felt in a great state 
of excitement respecting this new work." She rejoined, 
" But I did not feel it in this way when I came to you on 
the very next day after the first photographs had been 
taken, when the excitement must have been newer. I now 
feel when I approach and when I touch you, as if you had 
gone off into a fresh life, — more forth into the world, and 
as though you could not in the future be to individuals as 

you have been hitherto, but as if you belonged to all It 

is a curious feeling, as if you might be in a large spacious 
hall or something, and that your presence filled it." I here 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 131 

reminded her of Mr. Spear's prophecy of my being called 
to an outside work after the expiration of my twelve years 
of mediumship, but she had quite thought that had alluded 
to the Exhibition \ but that had taken place in the course 
of the twelfth year, not after its termination. 

There was a very pleasant gathering at the Cannon Street 
Hotel on the 29th of April for the presentation of a testi- 
monial to Mr. and Mrs. Everitt for their exertions in the 
cause of Spiritualism, when I am happy to say we mustered 
in strong force ; for indeed they are true and earnest 
workers in the highest sense, for not only are the pheno- 
mena manifested through Mrs. Everitt's mediumship both 
striking and various, but the religious tone pervading the 
whole renders ; them yet more valuable, and that is due to their 
own harmonious atmosphere which can thus be inter-pene- 
trated by the higher influences. The tokens of remembrance 
and appreciation took form as a pianoforte and a sewing 
machine, which w r ill do good service both for harmony and 
industry in the new suburban home to which they are 
about to remove, but I rejoice that the distance will not 
be such as to preclude them from occasionally receiving 
friends and enquirers as they have been in the habit of 
doing in the past, so that they may still be allowed the privi- 
lege of occasional admission to their interesting seances. 

In the May number of the Christian Spiritualist was a 
letter from Mr. Whiting, from which I will extract a few 
paragraphs. ..." Spiritualism has been tested in thou- 
sands of homes in the United Kingdom, and to earnest 
patient enquirers it has been clearly demonstrated to be the 
greatest truth of the 19th century. These investigators 
are of all classes of society and people holding extremely 
opposite views upon religious subjects ; but a large number 
are known as Christian Spiritualists. This is not sur- 
prising when we remember that the Bible is the Christian's 
book, and that it contains more wonderful spiritual pheno- 
mena than any other book. I think the time has arrived 
for Christian Spiritualists to come forward and maintain 
their right position, believing as they do that Spiritualism 



132 EVENINGS AT HOME 

(as they know it) is a fact ; and not opposed to other great 
truths they publicly acknowledge. I think it would be a 
very pleasant gathering if those holding the principles of 
the Christian Spiritualist were to meet in London, in the 
course of a short time, at a suitable time and place to be 
hereafter settled ; we should then be able to talk over this 
interesting and comprehensive subject. ... I shall be glad 
to receive communications from those who feel interested 
in the matter, so that something definite may be done for 
future arrangements. — I am yours, &c. 

" H. G. Whiting. 
"224 Kentish Town Road." 

Of course I wrote immediately to say that I quite con- 
curred in his views, and should have much pleasure in 
attending any such meeting if his plan were carried out, 
and in reply, he said : — " My dear Madam, — I was quite 
sure I should have a letter from you, knowing the zeal you 
have in the cause of Christian Spiritualism. The sacrifice 
you have made in reference to your Exhibition I understand 
is great, but I have reason to know that you have scattered 
Truth. I have a friend at St. John's Wood College (Dr. 
R.), and he told me that you gave him some valuable ideas 
in reference to Spiritualism, and doubtless you have sown 
good seed. Pioneers are always sufferers in Earthly things, 
and they sink a capital of this World's goods, to realize 
both capital and interest in the next." I regret to say that 
his suggestion received scarcely any response, so that no 
such meeting ever took place, but perhaps the day may yet 
come for its fulfilment. 

In the earlier sittings for my spirit photographs, I had 
been assisted by Mrs. Guppy's mediumship in addition to 
Mr. Hudson's department of it ; but on the 9th of May, he 
and I were alone, and obtained success, so now it was to 
take with me a professional form, and on the 16th, dear 
Mrs. T. was to have a se'ance with me in that capacity, 
(when from her I received my first fee), and I find the 
following entry in my note book, and give it in full, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 33 

although there have been a few previous words alluding 
to my sense of God's Care, but as that is ever rising in 
my soul, I cannot resist giving it the additional expression. 

I scarcely slept at all on the Wednesday night before the 
eventful Thursday, being kept awake by my spirit friends, 
who told me they were preparing me for my next day's 
work : (was it like the vigil of the Knight of old before 
obtaining his spurs ?) It was half-past three ere I closed 
my eyes, to open them again within an hour, and I was 
told that I should gradually have very much to do, but 
that an ample supply of strength would be granted to me. 
I now see the Wisdom that prevented my pictures from 
being hung, for if they had brought commissions to me, 
I should have lived in a constant state of anxiety, because 
this photography already keeps me so much from my easel, 
for in addition to the work itself, it entails such an enor- 
mous amount of writing ; for instance, I was occupied until 
nearly five o'clock to-day in considering and inscribing the 
condensed explanations in very small writing on the backs 
of those photographs I had brought home with me yester- 
day, and in writing two letters with some additional details, 
to enclose four of them which had been previously ordered; 
besides which, I am very particular, and find many pin-holes, 
&c, in the photographs, which want touching up, even 
after Miss Hudson has done her part : I would fain make 
them as perfect as they can be. 

On one of our tete-a-tete Friday seances here, after 
I had mesmerised Mrs. T. and she had passed under 
influence, she said, " I see a great many rays of yellow 
light, coming up from a central point, as they do in your 
drawings. Some of them go straight up, and some are 
curved, but they are all of a yellow colour. 

M I am looking at some foliage, — beautiful shades of green 
— I think it must be a garden : — there are trees twined 
together — they are planted in two rows, so as to form a 
walk between them, and then they join above, over the 
walk. — I see a young man walking in this path — in an 
officer's dress. He has got on one of those large, curious 



134 EVENINGS AT HOME 

cocked hats, fastened up at one side. I thought he had 
light hair, but I see it is sprinkled with grey ; he is older 
than he looked at first : he has a large nose. — I see such a 
beautiful young girl : — she has come down some steps, and 
has given a flower to this gentleman, and he kisses it 
From the flower go those lines, and they go over his face, 
and seem to brighten it ; they are typical of her influence 
over him, which is most beautiful." [Can you learn his 
name?] "He points to his hand: I think he means 
that he will try to write his name.' 7 [Through you?] 
"Yes." I then placed paper and pencil before her; again 
mesmerising her for some little time, until she took up the 
pencil, and with considerable difficulty wrote eight letters, 
all united, of which we could not make out the meaning; 
but then joined to them, were the letters Motee, which 
shewed me that I had not been mistaken in thinking that 
the vision was of General Ramsay and his daughter Motee. 
In another hand was then written the word Charles, and 
finally some letters of which I have only just (on the 
following evening) elucidated the meaning, for they are 
Aredl — which I find out is Pearl (the English for the 
Indian word Motee), the letters having been scattered 
about, and the P placed upside-down, and curiously 
formed. Mrs. T., in her normal state, said, "She came 
down with her left side towards me, and gave the flower 
with her right hand; it was a rose. She wore blue, and 
her dress was not high in front, and with such lovely lace ! 
it was so clear, and seemed almost like her flesh. Her 
face was quite radiant." 

I shewed her the photographs, and she recdgnised both 
the General and Motee ; but of the latter she said, " Here, 
in the photograph, she looks quite like an angel, but there 
is a timid shrinkingness about her. But as I saw her, 
every feature was so animated and radiant, and her whole 
figure seemed in buoyant motion. Her face in spirit life 
expressed such an assuredness of the blessed happiness 
around her that it was perfectly beaming." 

I again mesmerised her, and then under influence, she 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. I35 

made a movement of the hand, as if desirous of writing, so 
I again gave her paper and pencil, and Motee wrote the 
following, " I will try to do a direct drawing for Mamma, 
if your spirit artist will help." [Do you mean Sir Peter 
Lely?] "Yes." [Does he see you?] "I think so." 
[Do you see him ?] "Yes." 

A clergyman from Norwich came in before she had 
quite finished writing the above, which did not, however, 
disturb her, but she awoke when the message was con- 
cluded. He told me that his wife, who had been an 
invalid for about a year, had lately passed into spirit life. 
This, of course, changed the character of our seance, so 
that Motee could not then make her attempt, and our 
sittings for direct work were shortly afterwards suspended, 
still I hope the day may yet come when Motee may fulfil 
her desire. 

May 19th. To-day, Whitsunday, my Dove has laid the 
first of her fourth pair of eggs for this year. I record it, 
because it is the fourth anniversary of her being in my 
possession. If she had been as regular to the day as for 
the other three pairs, she would have laid this one last 
Tuesday, but she seems to have waited until this day. She 
has been curious in her laying, for in the year 1870, when 
I was making all sorts of enquiries as to the customs about 
Easter Eggs, she laid one on Easter Sunday, quite put of 
all course of nature, for she had laid one on the evening 
of April 7th, and the second on the morning of April 9th 
(thirty-six hours between is her regular time), and then 
she laid o?ie on Easter Sunday morning, April 17th (to 
which she laid no companion), when she would, naturally, 
be presumed to be sitting ! ! That has been the only 
instance of that kind of irregularity in her egg-laying. I 
am glad to find that I had recorded these peculiar eccentri- 
cities of hers, for although I. had remembered them, I 
should not have felt quite certain of giving them with 
perfect exactitude. 

Long ago, Mrs. Cooper kindly lent me Dr. Eadie's 
"Life of John Kitto, D.D., F.S.A.," from which I copied 



I36 EVENINGS AT HOME 

the following vision (page 74) ; not only from the marvel 
of its exact fulfilment, but because of the lesson inculcated 
towards the close, that prophecy is not identical with pre- 
destination, for that circumstances may arise to change the 
current of events. As we are warned in the past, so is the 
teaching even for the present time. 1 Cor. xiii. 8, 9 : 
" But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail ; whether 
there be tongues, they shall cease ; whether there be know- 
ledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we 
prophesy in part." 

"John Kitto, born December 4th, 1804. The following 
entry is found in the workhouse minutes, Plymouth : — ' July 
17th, 1823. John Kitto discharged. . . . Taken out under 
the patronage of the literati of the town.' . . . The follow- 
ing dream, as he calls it, and which, though probably a 
waking reverie, is very remarkable as a true presentiment, 
a correct delineation of his subsequent career. It is dated 
three days prior to his discharge, and occurs in a letter to 
Mr. Tracy : — 

"Methought (this is the established language of dreamers, 
I believe) I was exactly in the same situation in which I 
really was before I slept, and indulging in the same reflec- 
tions, when there suddenly appeared before me a being of 
more than mortal beauty. He was taller than the sons of 
men, and his eyes beamed with celestial fire ; a robe of 
azure hue, and far richer than the finest silk, enfolded his 
form, a starry zone of glittering gems encircled his waist, 
and in his hand he bore a rod of silver. 

" He touched me with his rod, and gently bending over 
me, he said, ' Child of mortality, I am the Angel Zared, 
and am sent to teach thee wisdom. Every man on his 
outset in life proposes to himself something as the end and 
reward of his labours, his wishes, and his hopes ; some are 
ambitious of honour, some of glory, and some of riches. 
Of what art thou ambitious, and what are the highest objects 
of thy earthly hopes ? ' 

" I was astonished at the visit and the words of the angel, 
and replied not to his demand. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 37 

" ' Thou canst not readily find, O child of earth, words to 
express the scenes which thy fancy has drawn. It matters 
not ; I know thy wishes, and will give you the possession 
of the state that is the highest of which thou art ambitious.' 

" He touched me with his rod, and my form expanded into 
manhood j again he touched, and then left me. On look- 
ing around me, I found myself seated in a room, two of the 
walls of which were entirely concealed by books, of which 
I felt myself conscious of being the owner. On the table 
lay letters addressed to me from distant parts of the Island, 
from the Continent, and from the New World : and con- 
spicuously on the chimney-piece were several volumes, of 
which I was conscious that I was the author, and was also 
sensible that the house wherein I was, was mine, and all that 
was in it I went forth into the street. Ridicule no longer 
pointed her finger at me ; many whom I met appeared to 
know and esteem me, and I felt conscious that I possessed 
many sincere and disinterested friends. I met a blind 
fiddler, and placing my hand instinctively in my pocket, I 
found that it lacked not money. I returned, and exclaimed 
as I took Caesar's Commentaries, in their original language, 
from the shelf, ' Now at last I am happy ! ' but before I 
had concluded the word, the Angel Zared again appeared 
before me, and touching me with his silver rod, restored me 
to the state in which he found me. 

" I felt a momentary sensation of disappointment and 
regret at the transition, till the angel spoke to me, and 
said : — 

" ' Listen to my words, O child of mortality, while I with- 
draw, as far as I am permitted, the veil of thy future 
destiny. Thou hast been afflicted with misfortune, and 
taught in the school of adversity. Think not that He 
Who made thee and me also, regards with displeasure those 
whom He purifies by sorrows, or that those are His peculiar 
favourites who are permitted by Him to enjoy the good 
things of this world. Whenever thou findest thyself in- 
clined to murmur at the dispensation of Providence, recol- 
lect that others, greater, better, and wiser than thou art, 



I38 EVENINGS AT HOME 

have suffered also — have suffered more than thou hast, or 
ever wilt suffer. 

" ' The time approaches when thou shalt attract the notice 
of thy superiors, who shall place within thy reach the means 
of acquiring that knowledge for which thou thirstest. They 
will transplant thee into a soil fit for thee, and if thou 
attendest well to the cultivation of thy intellectual and moral 
faculties, thou mayest perhaps become a permanent occupant 
of a station like that which I have permitted thee to enjoy 
for a moment. I say, perhaps, for only He knows, in 
Whose breast is hid the fate of worlds, whether thou art 
to live beyond the day on which I visit thee ; but of this 
I am permitted to assure thee, that the period of thy 
sojourn on earth, will not be, at the furthest, very many 
years. * 

" 'Be not, O son of earth, dejected if thou again meetest 
with disappointments and misfortunes ; neither suffer pros- 
perity too highly to elate thee ; and in every situation, and 
in every moment of thy life, remember that thou art mortal, 
and that there is a God and a hereafter. So live, that thou 
mayest not fear death, at whatever moment he may approach 
thee ; and if thus thou livest, thou wilt have lived indeed.' — 
Zared perhaps would have spoken longer, but a book fall- 
ing from the shelf upon my head, I awoke, and as honest 
John Bunyan says, behold it was a dream ! " 

"One might say to such a wondrous dreamer — 

" ' Thy life lies spread before thee as a sheet 
Of music, written by some gifted hand, 
Unsounded yet : to longing, listening hearts 
Translate its small mysterious silent notes 
Into full thrilling chords of life and peace.' " 

I ought, at the same time, to have made a few extracts as 
to John Kitto himself, but I had no thought of ever making 
use of the vision ; but I know that he was either a mason 
or a bricklayer, and fell from a scaffolding, receiving an 
injury that rendered him stone-deaf. He must have had 

* He died, November 25th, 1854, aged 50. 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 1 39 

a predisposition for study, that may have been indulged in 
the hospital. But a boy of nineteen in that class of life, 
would not have been likely to have had such a "waking 
reverie ; " still less would he have ventured to reveal it, so 
that I consider the remark absolutely puerile. 



140 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER X. 

Much as I have learned to value the Spiritual Magazine as 
a repertoire of every phase of phenomena connected with 
our grand subject, we had not taken it in from the begin- 
ning ; for in fact it seemed that I was to learn about it only 
from the spirits themselves, instead of perhaps being biassed 
by teachings that would emanate from other sources: so 
that it was not until towards the latter end of 1865 that we 
ordered it from the stationer in our then neighbourhood ; 
telling him that we would take it from the commencement 
of the year. When we had duly perused those numbers, 
Mamma suggested that we had better have the complete 
set from the beginning, and we had no misgiving as to there 
being any difficulty in obtaining them. But there were 
many numbers quite out of print — not in any regular order, 
but here and there odd ones, to the extent of a dozen and 
a half, — which I then made every effort to obtain from 
private sources ; giving my list likewise to Mr. Burns, and 
saying that I would willingly pay double their price if he 
could get them for me in any way. I used to carry my 
list in my purse, so as to take advantage of every available 
opportunity, and thus, during the Harley Street evenings, 
I did my pleadings to Miss Deekens, who was able to 
supply me with some of the missing pamphlets, from those 
in their possession, for Mr. Coleman always had some extra 
numbers of those containing his own very interesting articles 
on American Spiritualism. Gradually, by hook or by crook, 
I had made them so far right that there remained but two 
wanting, and those I had long given up as utterly unobtain- 
able, having also made up my mind some day to borrow 
them from my cousin Mrs. Pearson (who had taken them 
in from the very first), and absolutely to copy them, as 
neatly and orderly as I could, into the size to match the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 141 

others ; so that if a time should ever come when I could 
have them bound, there should be no deficiency in the 
real contents. I had had permission from my invisible 
friends to do so, but they always postponed the labour when 
I suggested commencing operations. On the 6th of June 
1873, I spent a charming day at Betch worth, with Mr. and 
Mrs. Bennett, in the course of which I mentioned my diffi- 
culty as to the magazines, and Mr. Bennett made a note 
of the two that were missing, for he knew there were some 
among the books of his father (lately deceased), and per- 
haps he might there find my two defaulters. On the 
following Wednesday, he and his sister-in-law, Miss Hunt, 
did me the pleasure of coming to see me and my drawings ; 
and he had not been long here when, from the recesses of 
that most useful bag of his, he drew forth the much longed- 
for magazines. I was busily engaged shewing the drawings, 
when a " word " came to me to say to Mr. Bennett, which 
was — "lam not to offer to pay you for these magazines, 
but am to beg your acceptance of a couple of photographs 
in exchange." "There, Annie," said he, turning laughingly 
to his sister, " it is quite clear that some one hears us wher- 
ever we may be." Then explanatorily to me, "I said at 
breakfast time this morning — If Miss Houghton offers to 
pay me for those small books, I won't take the money, but 
I should be very willing to accept a photograph if she will 
give me one." It amused us all very much ; for the in- 
breathing had been so positive to me, and had come while 
I was thinking more about the drawings I was shewing to 
them than anything else; and it was a couple of photo- 
graphs from those that he selected. 

The evening before my Betchworth visit (which was on 
a Friday), as I parted w r ith Mrs. Guppy I said, "What will 
have happened before we meet again?" " Oh ! " she ex- 
claimed, " that comes like a prophecy — I hope it will not 
be anything bad." To my surprise, a something had 
happened, that was bad enough, but might have been even 
worse ; for the window curtain in her bedroom had caught 
fire, and almost everything in the room was destroyed. 



I42 . EVENINGS AT HOME 

Fortunately she was at home, and has much presence of 
mind, as well as real working capacity, so that she saved all 
that she could, and was a good general, in directing the labours 
of others ; thus the fire was prevented from spreading beyond 
that room, although much damage was done by the water, 
and the place did indeed seem a wreck when I got there, 
the misfortune having only occurred on the previous evening. 
But she cautioned me against prophesying any more. 

I sent the following to the Christian Spiritualist. 

An extraordinary phenomenal seance took place this 
afternoon, August 14th, at Mrs. Guppy's, the circumstances 
of which I will narrate as briefly as I can. The room 
having been thoroughly darkened, we entered it about five 
o'clock, and having locked the door, all took our seats 
round the uncovered table, from which everything had 
been previously removed. There were present, the Countess 
Poulett, Mr. and Mrs. Guppy, Mrs. Fisher, Miss Mann, 
Mr. Traill Taylor, and myself, "Get Bible," was spelt 
out, which direction was obeyed, but we found that the 
appointed portion was not intended to be read yet, so it 
was placed on a side table. " Rub feet," was the next 
message, while at the same time the table was moved round 
by the spirits with a backwards and forwards sort of move- 
ment for the purpose of gaining physical power which would 
be increased by the action of our feet on the carpet. We 
soon felt something like a cloth being placed on the table, 
then there was a clatter as of plates, knives, spoons, &c, 
which seemed to come from a corner of the room as if 
invisible waiters were preparing to attend upon us ; then 
we heard and felt that things were being placed upon the 
table, and each found a plate given to them. Then a 
knife was carefully placed under my right hand, and a plate 
of butter in the left, a clattering noise going on all the time. 
Suddenly Mr. Taylor exclaimed, " Oh ! here is a hot kettle 
before me," — when Mrs. Guppy instantly struck a light, 
fearing lest any one should be hurt, but she might have 
felt perfect confidence, as our circle was a completely 
harmonious one. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 143 

On the table were six cups and saucers, tea-spoons, a 

small plate, and a table napkin for each of us ; a jug of 

milk, an empty jug, one of her flower jars filled with sugar, 

a plate full of black grapes, a loaf, two tea-cakes, a large 

tea-pot (a recent purchase of Mr. Guppy's) in which was a 

goodly supply of tea, as yet quite dry, and there really was 

the kettle of boiling water in front of Mr. Taylor, but the 

spirits had been so considerate as to put a cork into the 

spout, to avoid the possibility of an accident. Mrs. Guppy 

withdrew it, and made the tea with the contents. While it 

was brewing, we examined the various articles that had 

been brought; the plates, jugs, knives, &c, were Mrs. 

Guppy's own, but the cups and saucers were strangers, 

and Mr. Taylor thought they resembled his set (at Wood 

Green), but he could not be quite sure, as he is accustomed 

to use a large one ; however, he studied them closely, so 

as to ascertain on his return home. We enjoyed our most 

excellent tea (to the extent of twelve cups), and learned on 

questioning the spirits that it was out of a packet that Mr. 

Taylor had presented to Mrs. Guppy the evening before. 

When we had finished our meal, we put all the things 

in the middle of the table, so as to remove the cloth 

sufficiently to place our hands again on the uncovered part, 

and extinguished the light. We then again heard a clatter 

with the cups and saucers , and after a minute or so had 

elapsed, we were told to strike a light, and found that they 

had vanished, Mrs. Guppy's own crockery being still left on 

the table, and were answered in the affirmative when we 

asked whether they had been taken back to the place from 

whence they had been brought. Mrs. Fisher felt busy 

fingers meddling with her comb, which was withdrawn 

from her head, then the brooch was taken out of her dress. 

Katie's voice was heard in gentle whisper, but we could only 

distinguish such words as yes and no, the power having 

been used for the other class of manifestation. 

We were then directed to have a light, and Mrs. Guppy 
again gave me the Bible, when I was guided to turn over 
the pages to the required part (and at this moment in taking 



144 EVENINGS AT HOME 

up my own Bible to seek for the passage, it opened at the 
very place), and my ringer was pointed to Isaiah xxix. 9 
to 18: "Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out and 
cry ; they are drunken, but not with wine ; they stagger, 
but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out 
upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your 
eyes : the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he 
covered. And the vision of all has become unto you as 
the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to 
one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee : and he 
saith, I cannot ; for it is sealed : and the book is delivered 
to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee : 
and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, 
Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, 
and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their 
heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by 
the precept of men : therefore, behold, I will proceed to do 
a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous 
work and a wonder : for the wisdom of their wise men 
shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men 
shall be hid." When I had finished reading, our spirit 
friends wished us " Good-bye." 

Mrs. Fisher's comb had been placed in Mrs. Guppy's 
hair, but the brooch was nowhere to be seen, and she was 
troubled about it, having been her brother's gift, and the 
invisibles did not promise to return it. However, we all 
adjourned to the next room, where we were in full daylight, 
and suddenly something struck her cheek, and fell to the 
ground, which proved to be the missing brooch. 

Mrs. Guppy afterwards gave me the small cork that had 
been so protectingly employed (having been taken by the 
spirits from an empty medicine bottle), for me to keep as 
a memorial of the seance, and I still preserve it among my 
various relics. 

What was called the Annual National Conference of 
Spiritualists was held in Liverpool on the 5th, 6th, and 7th 
of August 1873, and their consultations eventuated in the 
formation of an association which has existed ever since, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 45 

and which I trust may grow with ever-increasing strength. 
The name bestowed upon it was the British National Asso- 
ciation of Spiritualists, about which there have been many 
carpings, but it is difficult in such matters to please every- 
body. Some think it is much too assumptive j but it does 
not mean one atom more than was hoped for it by its foun- 
ders, some of whom were warmly earnest men, with their 
hearts set upon doing their very utmost for the cause they 
loved, and they hoped that the whole body of Spiritualists in 
England would join their ranks. Of course there were 
others with mixed motives, who thought they might obtain 
personal advantages and influence by belonging to it. 
Our energetic friends Mr. and Mrs. Everitt gave themselves 
into it with fervour, and their example would sway many, 
as they have a numerous circle of friends in different parts 
of the country, and Mr. Everitt was appointed President 
p'O tern. London of course must be the seat of the Society, 
and it was another effort to form a kind of nucleus for the 
working out of Spiritualism in every form ; such as the 
Spiritual Lyceum of Mr. Cooper, to which both books and 
spirit-drawings had been contributed; but that work died 
out for want of support ; and when afterwards the Spiritual 
Atheneum in Sloane Street was started for the purpose of 
giving Mr. Home the secretaryship, Mr. Cooper forwarded 
to it the books that had been presented for public use, and 
I believe there was a very fair library, but what became of 
them when . Mr. Home's misfortune overtook him, I know 
not, for that society collapsed ; and when afterwards a new 
attempt in the same direction was made by Mr. and Mrs. 
Spear and their friends, in the endeavour to establish a 
kind of central focus in Bryanston Street, Mr. Cooper (the 
original trustee, as it were, of the books) authorised them 
to gather together that collection of literature, all vestiges 
of it seemed to have disappeared. These various under- 
takings had each struggled on for a short time, but they 
had been principally the work of individuals, whereas this 
new one became at once a considerable knot, and some 
influential people gradually joined this more inclusive body, 

K 



146 EVENINGS AT HOME 

but for a time I declined doing so, although I had been 
solicited from several quarters ; but it was because No, was 
the advice then given to me. 

On the 1 6th of August I had a visit from Mrs. Ramsay, 
Mrs. Gregory, and Mr. Noyes, to ask me to go that evening 
to a seance at Mrs. Gregory's, as they were desirous of having 
a series of regular weekly sittings without the presence of 
any public medium, and they wanted me to form one of 
the circle, which I agreed to do. After they had left, I 
was told that there would not that evening be a manifesta- 
tion of any kind, which proved correct ; but it was a very 
pleasant, harmonious circle, and we had, at any rate, con- 
versation in accordance with what we were seeking. On 
the following Saturday we had the most exquisite lights I 
have ever seen. They had the pure whiteness of alabaster, 
and looked almost as semi-transparently solid. We saw 
nine of them in the course of the evening of different sizes, 
more or less elongated, but I should think the largest was 
about nine inches in height, and from three to four inches 
in width, rounded off at the top and bottom, and giving 
one the idea of roundness in its substance. One or two 
were, I think, nearly circular, but I write only from memory, 
as my entry is simply, u Mrs. Gregory : seance, nine lights." 
But I believe we never saw those lights except on that one 
occasion. 

On Sunday the 31st, I went to Mrs. T.'s in the after- 
noon, to accompany her in the evening to the Cavendish 
Rooms, where the Rev. F. W. Monck, a Baptist minister 
from the neighbourhood of Bristol, was to give some of his 
wonderful experiences, having been rapidly developed into 
very extraordinary mediumship ; many circumstances of 
which I had read in the Christian Spiritualist. He has 
since become more generally known under the title of Dr., 
conferred upon him by some American college. 

One evening in July I had a visit from Mr. W., an artist 
friend whose acquaintance I had made at the old home, 
being already intimate with his daughters, who, like myself, 
belonged to the choir of Kentish Town Church, and to its 






IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 47 

choral society. My drawings had at once brought convic- 
tion to him of the unseen agencies around, and he was 
truly grateful to me for the assurance thus gained ; more 
especially as he afterwards became a victim to rather un- 
toward influences, although at first he did not at all under- 
stand what had come upon him. He feared he was either 
going out of his mind, or that he was suffering from 
some severe calamity to his eyesight, which might become 
fatal to his professional career ; for in the evening and at 
night he would see dancing lights, of all kinds of grotesque 
forms, which, like will-o'-the-wisps, would frisk along the 
staircase before him as he was going up to bed, and he 
would likewise see them flashing about him after he had 
put out the light and was in bed ; sometimes there would 
seem like a reptile face within them. He had by that time 
made the acquaintance of some Spiritualists, and one of 
them recommended him to sketch these uncanny beings, 
and perhaps by that means he might be able to rid him- 
self of them. He followed out the advice, and with the 
most complete success, for gradually the unpleasant ones 
left him, and he has sometimes seen very lovely spirits. 
He promised to bring his sketches with him the next time 
he should come here ; but in the meanwhile he met me 
several times at Mr. Hudson's for photographic seances, so 
that it was not until the ioth of September that he fulfilled 
his promise, and they certainly are most curious and 
interesting. He then begged me to select two for my own 
acceptance, as a token of his gratitude for the new truths 
which I had been originally instrumental in bringing to his 
knowledge. He left the whole collection (nearly two 
dozen) with me that evening, and on his next visit, he 
warmly urged my acceptance of nine others, and heartily 
wished he could give them all to me, but the gentleman in 
whose charge they had previously been, had somehow 
understood that he had given half of them to him, and 
although he did not remember having done so, there was 
no remedy, although he would very much have preferred 
that I should have had them all. They are marvellously 



148 EVENINGS AT HOME 

clever, simply as sketches, in addition to the peculiar 
interest attaching to them. Some of them are spirits in an 
unhappy state, others are the grotesque little monsters of 
which I have spoken, while others are pleasant looking 
spirits. Some time later I had a pair of the pictures 
photographed (to be professionally parted with), of the 
two different characteristics. They are chiefly in neutral 
tints with warm colouring here and there. He sees them 
in the dark, then strikes a light and sets to work upon what 
he has seen, working very rapidly. He feels very much 
exhausted when he has finished, and I have no doubt that 
he is spiritually aided in the artistic work. Sometimes he 
does several different sketches on the same sheet of paper 
in one night. On the upper part of one is a skull, by no 
means unpleasant looking (in fact I have taken quite a 
friendly feeling towards it while in front of me to describe) ; 
by the side of it is an outline face as if formed of blue 
flames. On the left is a fine looking upturned countenance, 
while below it is the small figure of a nun with a mallet in 
her hand as if breaking huge stones that lie at her feet; 
and by her side, just below the skull is a profile face with a 
villanously low forehead, in blue tints. . . Another contains 
a profile face, set in a medallion or frame ; — two faces side 
by side, upside down, in which position he saw them ; and 
above, is a hand and wrist, as if coming out of clouds. . . 
Another is an awful face with wide-open mouth, and 
through my hand was written that it was a drunkard. . . 
While one of those that went away had a ghastly expres- 
sion, with the tongue thrust out from the mouth, and 
that, in like manner, was interpreted through me as 
a blasphemer. . . Another picture has pairs of eyes, and 
single eyes ; with perhaps scraps of features attached to 
them. . . . Another has rather a fine face, but the expres- 
sion of the eyes is unpleasant, while down in front flow 
seven golden orange-tinted round objects, which I think 
represent coin, so that he may probably have been a miser : 
a larger face seems to look askance at him, and above is a 
little horned and winged monster, red, yellow, and blue. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 49 

The last I will attempt to describe has, at the upper part, 
a face not unlike a toad, spreading out sideways with blue 
flames, — beneath, on the right, is another frog-looking face 
with sulphury-looking flames, which give the effect of a 
rather large body of those flames, and on the left is the 
semblance of a pin-hole eye within the hollow of bluish 
flames. There can be no question that some of these 
extraordinary beings are those known by the term " ele- 
mentaries," and one great value of these sketches to me 
(which makes me still more regret not having the other 
half of them, as they each contain their separate lesson), 
is the indubitable evidence they give of the objective 
reality of those said elementaries, on the subject of which 
I have heard so many cavillings and scoffings. I am fully 
persuaded that the atmosphere is filled with myriads of 
beings invisible to us, that have a life perfectly distinct and 
separate from us in every respect, having no affinity nor any 
future point of union with us. We realise that the micro- 
scope has revealed a living insect world in the air and in 
the waters that our ancestors never dreamed of: the spirit 
world has likewise its varied creations that may never come 
within our ken, except to the eyes of the seer, that are also 
entirely unconnected with us in any way, unless we in a 
manner degrade our souls towards their level, which I 
believe to be the case with drunkards, when their eyes 
possibly may behold the reptiles they shrink from. I must 
here give an extract with regard to these eleme?itaries (which 
is a name, and therefore I employ it whether or not it 
carries any sense), from " Ghost Land," against which I 
have heard harsh language fulminated : but in my opinion 
these very drawings bear strongly corroborative testimony 
to the truth of what is there stated ; and I must say that I 
have seldom read a book that has interested me so much 
as that has done, and I would fain in some way become 
acquainted with its author. 

Extract from " Ghost Land," page 1 1 1 : — 
" The more dim and shadowy the outer world grew to 
my sense of sight, the more real and horrible became the 



I50 EVENINGS AT HOME 

objects revealed to my interior senses. The air, the earth, 
the waters, appeared to be thick with grotesque and hideous 
semblances of half-man and half-beast. Creeping, crawling, 
flying and leaping things, of all shapes and sizes, held 
goblin carnival around me. The outer world was receding, 
and I passed into a veritable realm of demons. I scarcely 
dare even now recall the full horrors of this vision, nor 
should I have attributed to it any objective reality had I 
not witnessed the terror of the poor horses, and connected 
the whole scene with subsequent incidents. I was aroused 
from this palsy of horror by the voice of Professor von 
Marx, whose tones, though modulated almost to a whisper, 
so as to reach my ear alone, sounded like thunder, as he 
murmured, ' Louis, Louis ! rouse yourself, or you will let 
the demons of hell get possession of you ! ' My strength 
and composure returned with the touch of my master's 
powerful hand. Even my poor horse owned the spell of his 
resistless influence ; for I found it standing, with drooping 
head, and at my side, and though trembling violently, it 
was no longer restive or intractable. ' You have forgotten 
your Eastern training, methinks,' said the professor half 
reproachfully, as I looked at my poor steed. ' No training 
will avail here, 5 I replied in the same tone ; ' through this 
accursed spot I will not attempt to lead this suffering 
creature.' There was no time for further discussion. In 
a single instant a thick, vaporous mist fell upon us, envelop- 
ing us in its damp, slimy folds as in a wet garment It 
rolled, surged, and filled the atmosphere for a moment, 
just as I have seen the air grow instantaneously thick and 
almost impenetrable in the murky folds of a London fog ; 
but before we could comment to each other on this 
remarkable phenomenon, the mists rose, curled, and sepa- 
rated into ten thousand fragments, and with slight, sharp, 
detonating sounds, exploded into the well-known appear- 
ances called will-o'-the-wisps, or as the country folk of 
England call them, 'jack-o'-lanterns. 5 Truth to tell, the 
appearance of these phosphorescent lights in a place where 
no marshy ground existed, and where, as our whole party 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 151 

affirmed, they had never been seen before, in no way 
tended to re-assure us. As for me, I saw around these 
glimmering lights, which danced, flitted, wheeled, or 
floated, by hundreds on every side of us, the opaque bodies 
and grotesque outlines of the elementaries, not as before in 
distinct resemblances of animals and men, but in a vague, 
undefined burr around each shimmering flame, which was 
situated, as my shuddering fancy suggested, just where the 
nervous centres of their strange life might be supposed 
to inhere. Sometimes fierce malignant eyes glared at me 
through the fast-deepening gloom, when the sudden start and 
unmistakable terror of my poor horse, which I continued 
to lead, proved either that he shared with me the goblin 
sight, or that my hand communicated a sense of repulsion 
to the sensitive animal. Soon after leaving the village, the 
phantom lights disappeared one by one, and we reached 
our home without further interruption." 

I sent the following account to the Christian Spiritualist 
. . . I have again the pleasure of relating a few of the 
circumstances that took place at a seance of Mrs. Guppy's, 
which was held on the evening of September 4th. The 
circle consisted of Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. and Mrs. Guppy, 
Mr. Walker, Mrs. Fisher, Miss Mann and myself. The 
room was darkened, and the door locked, as on the former 
occasion. 

After we had said The Lord's Prayer, the alphabet was 
requested, and we received the following message : — " Wish 
for two things, flowers, fruit, roots, or vegetables." Mrs. 
Guppy begged Mrs. Ramsay to make the decision, and she 
chose flowers and fruit. We were then told to " rub feet," 
and while we did so, we heard that something wooden was 
placed on the table with which a sort of knocking was 
made ; then we both smelt and felt flowers ; a clatter, too, 
as of plates, added to the noise, and one was placed in 
front of each of us. When this had gone on for some time, 
we were told by raps, " Call them down to look at the 
manifestations : " the them alluded to were two gentlemen, 
who were upstairs playing billiards, and we were now 



152 EVENINGS AT HOME 

allowed to have a light, when a lovely sight greeted our 
eyes. On the centre of the table had been placed a smaller 
one (with the feet of which the hammering noise had been 
made), producing the effect of an epergne, for on it was a 
magnificent dish of pears, elegantly ornamented with a 
whole plant of nasturtion, the leaves and flowers drooping 
gracefully down, while on the lower table, round which we 
were seated, were four dishes of plums, of two different 
kinds, and a large glass dish filled with grapes ; the fruit 
being half hidden from our view by the masses of beautiful 
flowers that were grouped over them. The gentlemen and 
little Tommy were much gratified by the summons to see 
the wonders. The green dishes and plates formed an 
entire dessert service, not belonging to Mrs. Guppy, nor to 
any of the party ; the fruit consisted of a large supply pur- 
chased for Tommy's birthday party, to take place on the 
6th ; the glass dish also was Mrs. Guppy's property. Of 
course we all partook of the dessert thus provided for us, 
and when we were again reduced to our own circle, the 
door was closed, and the light put out. We made many 
conjectures as to the crockery, but obtained no information, 
and I laughingly suggested to the invisibles, whom we still 
heard busily occupied, that I hoped, if they took away the 
plates and dishes, they would leave us the fruit. Suddenly 
I felt my arm firmly grasped, so as to turn my hand palm 
upwards, and within it was placed a little bird. By and 
by " Light " was spelt, when lo ! the fruit was gone, having 
been cleared from the dishes, &c, which remained there 
in their emptiness. The bird was a green canary, which 
became rather restless when it saw the light, so I wrapped 
it in my handkerchief, and Mrs. Guppy said she had a small 
cage in which I could bring it home, but it presently turned 
out that it was Mrs. Guppy's own bird, so, of course, I 
would not have it. She was then told to " walk round the 
garden," and was going through the other room to fulfil the 
injunction, when she made an exclamation that summoned 
us also into it, and there, in the middle of the room, under 
the full gaslight, was heaped on the ground all the fruit 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 1 53 

that had been carried away from us, making a goodly pile ; 
and I took that opportunity of replacing the bird in its own 
cage on the mantel-piece. When she had returned from 
her threefold circuit of the garden, and we were again 
quietly established ; by raps I was asked, " Why did you 
not keep the bird ? " To which I answered that I only 
considered that such manifestations were intended as proofs 
of an outside power, and I certainly should not consider 
myself justified in carrying off Mrs. Guppy's goods and 
chattels ; but she said she wished I had, for that as they 
are shortly going to Rome, she would be glad that the bird 
should be sure of a happy home. As she said that, I felt a 
small cage placed in front of me, and when we had the 
light, in it were both the birds, which I then accepted as her 
gift. There were a few other incidents, spirit lights being 
also seen, but they were not very vivid, the power having 
all been used for the physical manifestations, and they 
finished with the rapped-out message, " May God give you 
all good gifts." 

The same party, with one or two additions, are invited to 
Mrs. Guppy's for the 16th of this month, and I hope to 
gratify your readers with an account of the se'ance in your 
next number. 

At this distance of time I may frankly own that the gift of 
the birds was anything but a desirable one to me. I had my 
own little pet, the Dove, and my life is always too fully occu- 
pied for me to have much time to bestow the little attentions 
that birds and animals like to receive, so that I was not at 
all sorry afterwards to learn that Mr. Guppy would have 
preferred giving them into the charge of a young relative 
of his own ; so that I gladly replaced them in their small 
cage, and took them back to Highbury a week or two later. 

A circumstance highly important in the history of Spiri- 
tualism, is best narrated in the following letter which was 
published in the Spiritual Magazine for October : — " Upper 
Norwood, September nth, 1S73 : — My dear Mr. Howitt, — 
You have been, I believe, already apprised by your daughter, 
Mrs. Watts, that I have succeeded (in response to my per- 



154 EVENINGS AT HOME 

sonal applications to a few of your friends) in obtaining the 
means of purchasing your portrait, which the late Mr. 
Thomas Heaphy, the artist, considered one of his best 
efforts ; and that I am authorised to present it to Mrs. 
Howitt by the ladies and gentlemen whose names are 
appended to an address to yourself, which accompanies 
the picture. I content myself by saying that it affords me 
very sincere pleasure to hand these testimonials of respect 
and friendship to you and Mrs. Howitt, and with best 
wishes to you both, I am, my dear Mr. Howitt, very truly 
yours, Benjamin Coleman." 

The address was written on parchment, beautifully illumi- 
nated and handsomely framed, and was thus worded : "To 
Mr. William Howitt — In testimony of our appreciation of 
your literary efforts for the best interests of humanity, and 
for your firm advocacy of a pure and elevating Spiritualism ; 
we, a few of your many friends, have the pleasure of pre- 
senting to Mrs. Howitt your Portrait (painted by the late 
Mr. Thomas Heaphy), as a token of our personal regard 
for your private worth, and our acknowledgment of the 
great services you have rendered to all who have come 
within the sphere of your most useful labours." The list 
of signatures and the warm letters of thanks from both Mr. 
-and Mrs. Howitt also appear in the magazine, but I feel 
that I must yet extract Mrs. Heaphy's letter, for I know 
how intensely grateful she is to The Loving Lord for the 
many true helps He has vouchsafed to her in her arduous 
task of providing for the maintenance and education of the 
younger members of her very numerous family thus left 
fatherless, with but scanty means, for artists generally find 
their profession most truly a hand-to-mouth one, and in his 
case the provision for the future was narrow indeed. 

" Dear Mr. Coleman, — I know not how to thank you for 
the very kind interest you have taken in my affairs. The 
^50 you have been the means of getting me for the portrait 
of Mr. Howitt has done me the greatest service. It has 
enabled me to outfit and pay the passage of one of my boys 
(17 years of age) to Canada, where employment is offered 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 55 

him. My youngest girl of twelve will, I believe, be taken 
in at an excellent school at Tunbridge Wells, the Artists' 
Orphanage, which was mainly instituted originally, by the 
suggestion and energy of my late husband. I feel so grati- 
fied that it is to you I am so much indebted, for my husband 
entertained the highest opinion of you, and regarded you 
with feelings truly brotherly. I beg you to make known 
my thanks to all those ladies and gentlemen who have so 
kindly taken part in this transaction : and with best wishes 
and thanks to yourself, — Believe me ever, my dear Mr. 
Coleman, your obliged Eliza Heaphy." 



-j 



156 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER XL 

At our fourth seance at Mrs. Makdougall Gregory's, Miss 
Ramsay was developed for music, and her brother Jim 
manifested his presence by the performance of the military 
roll call, which had been his signal to me by the move- 
ments of my pen, on the evening that I had heard of his 
unexpected decease in opening manhood, and he then 
gave me messages for his mother and sisters when I had 
just sent off a letter of sympathy to Mrs. Ramsay, but I 
was thus enabled to send her another which should con- 
tain more comfort than only my words could give. I think 
it was on this same evening at Mrs. Gregory's that Miss 
Ramsay received some degree of vision, and trance medium- 
ship. In the course of our series, she had some very inter- 
esting visions, but I do not know whether any record was 
kept, although at the commencement Mr. Noyes had under- 
taken that department. On the following Saturday, Mr. 
Rouse was with us, and from him I received one or two 
striking descriptions of my personal friends whom he saw 
near me. One was especially graphic of Papa, when he 
spoke of his merry twinkling eyes, and I received at the 
same time the signal by which he intimates his presence to 
me, which was a yet further corroboration of Mr. Rouse's 
seership. He had one vision of a spirit I do not know, but 
I was told that she was one of my spiritual co-workers. 
" I see a gate, with its side-posts and cross-bars just like an 
earthly gate. By the side of it stands a female figure, wear- 
ing a dress high up to the throat, with plaits or folds to the 
waist : her hair is banded rather low at the side of the face, 
and then carried up behind the ears. The gate is wide 
open, and you are standing by it; beyond it is a large 
field, very large indeed." . . I did not think to ask him 
whether I was withinside the gate, but it seems to me to 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 157 

indicate that there is a very large field of labour open 
before me. 

Dr. Monck formed one of our next week's circle, and the 
chief circumstance I recollect is that he was closely hemmed 
in to the corner of the room, as we sat round the table, whence 
he was suddenly lifted up and carried right over it into the 
centre of the room, and was afterwards floated about, while 
we heard his voice from different parts ; and he wrote with 
a pencil on the ceiling, I think, twice. I have no memoranda 
about the other seances, but they were continued for fourteen 
weeks, with always some members of the original circle, and 
only occasional admixtures, so I think they demonstrated a 
good share of steadfastness in those who comprised it. 

On the 17th of September, Mr. Enmore Jones initiated 
a series of Wednesday evening free meetings at Lawson's 
Rooms, Gower Street. I am happy to say that his desire 
is always to promote Christian Spiritualism as much as 
possible; he is a most energetic worker in the cause, and 
has been so for very many years. The first public meeting 
that I ever went to, bearing upon the subject was, I think, 
some time in i860, when I accompanied my cousins to a 
lecture in a room that belonged I believe to the Whittington 
Club, Mr. Jones being the lecturer, when he shewed us 
some interesting magic-lantern slides, representing the aura 
seen by clairvoyants as issuing from magnets, shells, and 
other objects, giving at the same time very lucid explana- 
tions of what he was exhibiting. Mrs. Fussell and her 
daughter were among the small audience, and although I 
had not at that time the pleasure of knowing them, I re- 
membered their faces when I was some time afterwards 
introduced to them by Mrs. Coleman, whose then residence 
was in Bayswater. Mr. Jones's free meetings were held on 
four consecutive Wednesdays, and on the fifth we concluded 
with a social tea assemblage, enlivened by speeches. 

That was rather a busy season among the Spiritualists, 
for it was then that Mrs. Tappan made what I believe was 
her first visit to England, and I went on the 21st of September 
to hear her in St. George's Hall, Langham Place. 



158 EVENINGS AT HOME 

At Mrs. Gregory's on the 13th of October, I had the 
gratification of meeting M. Aksakof of St. Petersburg, with 
whom I had much interesting conversation, and there was 
the additional link between us of his having been a most 
intimate friend of the late Mr. Shaw (tutor to the Imperial 
family), my cousin-in-law. He then arranged to meet me 
on the following Thursday for a sitting with Mr. Hudson ; 
and at a later date we were together at Mrs. Guppy's, when 
some of the circumstances that occurred are detailed in 
the latter part of the following narrative that I sent to the 
Christian Spiritualist. 

I almost feared that I should be unable to fulfil my 
promise of giving an account this month of Mrs Guppy's 
next se'ance, as it had been unavoidably postponed, but was 
finally held on October 16th. The circle consisted of Mr. 
and Mrs. Guppy, Mrs. and Miss Ramsay, Mrs. Wiseman, 
with her daughter and son-in-law, Mrs. Fisher, Mr. Volck- 
man, and myself. The room was darkened and the door 
locked. 

We commenced as usual with The Lord's Prayer, and in 
a short time we heard five raps for the alphabet. As the 
number was rather large, so that we were crowded, Mrs. 
Fisher had at first seated herself at some little distance, 
and the message given was to desire her to stand behind 
us, and to place her hands, one on Mrs. Guppy's shoulder, 
and one on mine, and when that arrangement had been 
carried out, we received permission each to wish for some- 
thing. A few wishes were definite, flowers of course being 
in the ascendant, but some were left to the choice of the 
spirits. Mr. Volckman asked for a sunflower, and Mrs. 
Fraser requested them to bring her a brooch which she had 
left with her wraps in the hall, from which we were divided 
by the locked door. Mrs. Guppy heard a voice whisper, 
" rub feet," and we accordingly rubbed our feet on the 
carpet, for the purpose of increasing by movement the out- 
flow from ourselves. We heard sounds about the room, 
and presently found that something large was placed upon 
the table, while at the same time we perceived a strong 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 159 

odour of earth. " Get a light," was now spelt out, and, to 
our surprise, on the centre of the table stood a magnificent 
sunflower plant, towering far above us, which had been dug 
up by the invisibles, roots and all, from Mrs. Guppy's 
garden ; but, alas ! the quantity of mould that had been 
brought with it, was scattered both on the table and on the 
carpet, so it was deemed advisable to clear all that mani- 
festation into a large cloth. The table was thoroughly 
wiped, and the gas again extinguished. 

Once more we heard sounds as if our unseen friends 
were very busy : there was a clatter as of porcelain, and 
some of us felt the hands which were placing the cups and 
flowers in front of us. We saw glimmering lights, and then 
I felt my head tenderly caressed by the fingers of dear 
Motee. I asked her to let me kiss her hand, as she has 
done twice at my own home seances, and after coaxing my 
cheek awhile, her fingers pressed my lips-, and she indulged 
my request more than once. Mrs. Fisher was several 
times so forcibly pulled back by the spirits that she had 
to grasp, our shoulders very tightly not to be withdrawn 
from the circle. She then exclaimed that they were doing 
something to her hair, and Mr. Fraser felt a small article 
strike his back and fall down behind him. We heard 
Katie's voice, and she made some amusing personal 
remarks about those present. When we were permitted to 
light the gas, we found that the table was covered with 
some of the china ornaments from different parts of the 
room, interspersed with a goodly supply of variously 
coloured dahlia flowers. On the floor behind him Mr. 
Fraser found the brooch that had been wished for by his 
wife, but it proved to be Mrs. Wiseman's instead of her 
own. Mrs. Fisher complained that her flower had not 
been brought to her, when we laughed at her for her ingra- 
titude, for a white dahlia had been most tastefully inserted 
in her dark hair at the time she had felt it being manipu- 
lated. Katie then rapped out, " I cannot do any more," 
so we thanked her and her assistant band for the pleasure 
they had given us, and wished them good-night. 



l6o EVENINGS AT HOME 

I may now add a few of the incidents that occurred at 
another seance at Mrs. Guppy's, on the 23rd of October, 
when the circle consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Guppy, Mr. 
Serjeant Cox, M. Alexandre Aksakof, Mr. and Miss 
Shorter, Mrs. Fisher, Mr. Volckman," Miss Ingram and 
myself. Miss Shorter, at Mrs. Guppy's request, thoroughly 
examined the room, and the door was locked when we were 
all assembled. 

After having said The Lord's Prayer, we were desired by 
raps to wish for something to be brought, but we were 
clearly not to wish unreasonably, for several suggestions of 
that class were negatived. Serjeant Cox wished for chrysan- 
themums, but dahlias were brought instead, and perhaps 
our invisible purveyors might not have known them by 
name. Then various fruits were asked for, also vegetables, 
so there was a curious medley of apples, plums, almonds, 
carrots, turnips, &c. Mrs. Guppy requested them to bring 
her a mussel out of Jier aquarium, and Serjeant Cox 
exclaimed that there was a live fish in front of him, which 
was flapping about very energetically: a light was imme- 
diately struck, and there indeed were three of Mrs. Guppy's 
gold fish, which she took away in great haste to replace in 
the water, as she feared for their little lives. While we 
were sitting in the light, waiting for her return, some 
observation was made as to the advantage of a knife and 
fork wherewith to eat our dessert, and as soon as the gas 
was extinguished, down they fell on the table. 

When the little fish were brought, Serjeant Cox observed 
that eels would have been more serviceable, and presently 
he said, " Surely this is an eel," and at the same moment 
Mrs. Guppy shrieked most fearfully, desiring that a light 
should be struck at once, when there was seen one live eel 
round her neck, and another on the table between Serjeant 
Cox and myself, and likewise a live lobster in the middle 
of the table. Poor Mrs. Guppy was sadly terrified, and 
with much reason, although in the dark she did not know 
what the moving creature might be that was performing the 
part of necklace, for I am told that eels bite very hard, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. l6l 

refusing to loose their hold. They and the lobster were 
taken downstairs and put into water, and then the spirits 
told us they could do no more, and wished us good-night. 

Mrs. Guppy is not at all partial to eels, but as I am, I 
asked if I might have them, to which she gladly assented, 
insisting also that I should bring away the lobster, so they 
were all packed in paper and a basket for me to carry 
home, and I must beg to thank the spirits for three very 
nice dinners that I thoroughly enjoyed. The main body 
of the lobster was picked out of the shell without its being 
broken, so that I have it as a bright coloured souvenir of 
that wonderful seance. M. Aksakof, who came to see me 
a few days later, was glad to have one piece of claw, as it 
could travel without being broken. 

It will have been seen by the above list of the members 
of the circle, that Miss Ingram was once more in England, 
after her long sojourn in America. To my great gratifica- 
tion she arrived about the end of September, and I am 
happy to say with considerably renovated health, and hitherto 
she has not again strayed away from England. 

I had the pleasure of a visit from M. Aksakof on two 
consecutive Wednesdays, and he came once again for me 
to take him for a seance with that worthy veteran medium 
Mrs. Marshall, but I do not remember any of the par- 
ticulars. 

On the 15th of September Mrs. T. moved into her new 
house in the Albert Road, Regents Park, and I was most 
thankful to have her established within convenient reach, 
for there had been great tremours in my mind as to what 
might be the ultimate result of the various places under 
consideration. I wish I had written down all that she told 
me at different times after first making the change, for such 
experiences are very instructive, and to her it had occa- 
sioned extreme discomfort if not absolute suffering. The 
house had a feeling of spiritual emptiness, and as if there 
were a coldness in the atmosphere that prevented the unseen 
ones from approaching her, and that sensation continued until 
she had gradually permeated it with her own emanations, 

L 



1 62 EVENINGS AT HOME 

which of course was more speedily done in the sitting-rooms 
than the staircase, and for a long time she missed the 
accustomed companionship of the invisibles in her journeys 
up and down ; I believe, too, that it was in some degree 
detrimental to her physical health, from the drain it made 
upon her system, and which she always feels to some 
extent when she leaves home : and I am instructed that it 
is, for special reasons appertaining to her own mediumship, 
so injurious to her not to be surrounded to at least a 
certain distance, by a nuidic compound of her outflow and 
the influences of her guardian circle, that when she goes 
into a new place they are compelled to draw rapidly from 
her, so as to mingle therewith their own sustaining ele- 
ment. She is thus drained from at first, so as to enable 
her at all to exist amid the fresh surroundings ; for which 
reason it is that travelling about is essentially unsuitable for 
her, and that her own home is her fittest abiding place. I 
went to see her for the first time in her pretty new dwelling, 
on the 19th of October, while the cold chill was still upon 
it, and she then told me many of her sensations that have 
now slipped from my memory. Even on my following 
visit to her, that sense of spiritual isolation still continued. 
I have referred in the photographic chronicles to a com- 
munication I received when she came here on the 16th 
of December, but I am to recapitulate it here. She was 
far from well, and I therefore mesmerised her, simply, as I 
opined, for curative purposes, and afterwards did it a 
second time, when she passed into trance, and presently 
was thus spoken through very slowly : — " Just this thought, 
— be prepared for changes — change. — She has been 
brought here on purpose to tell you, so that you may be 
prepared.'' [I suppose it is better that I should not ques- 
tion in any way.] After a long silence, she added, "Be 
prepared to lose a valued friendship — but be not disturbed 
— it is best — but be prepared, lest it should come upon you 
like a thief in the night." She then awoke, and I told her 
a part of what had been said. 

The solution came in a form that troubled me a good 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 63 

deal at the time, for towards the end of January I received 
a letter from the Rev. F. R. Young, to say that after due 
deliberation he had decided upon giving up the Christiati 
Spiritualist into the hands of Dr. Sexton ; and I felt that 
the after-tone of the periodical would not be likely to 
harmonize so well with my own feelings as it had done 
during the three years that he had conducted it ; I also 
thought that thenceforward I should probably not be a con- 
tributor to it, which proved to be the case during the brief 
year and a half of its longer existence. 

I was present in St. George's Hall, as one of a large 
audience, on the 29th of December, when Mrs. Tappan's 
guides gave, through her, a very interesting account of her 
development and experiences. 

In the July of that year, I had received a letter from 
Miss Pery, a lady unknown to me, residing in the Nether- 
wood Road, Hammersmith ; saying that her hand had been 
guided by invisible agencies to do some curious drawings, 
and she had been told by a friend that I might possibly be 
able to give her some light on the subject ; which led to 
occasional correspondence between us ; she afterwards sent 
me one of her drawings to look at, and very beautiful it 
was, being executed in pencil with most extremely fine work, 
representing a multitude of small heads and faces, highly 
finished, and closely grouped together, there being some- 
times a glimpse of a hand or a foot : there were also small 
crosses, and such other symbolism. The heads were varied 
as to size and position, and I admired it very much, but 
returned it without having been able to obtain any inter- 
pretation as to its meaning. Later on she gratified me by 
the information that she had commenced one to present to 
me. In the meanwhile she had gone to Brighton, but still 
I had not had the pleasure of making her personal acquain- 
tance. On the 4th of March I received the promised 
drawing, of which the beauty transcended the one she had 
sent me to look at, although similar in character, the 
multitudinous faces seeming sometimes to gleam through 
the others ; and it was explained to me as representing a 



164 EVENINGS AT HOME 

kind of section of what we should see, could our spiritual 
vision be fully opened, for just as closely are the faces 
crowded round about us, but as they are in most cases 
invisible to one another (for they only see those with whom 
they are in fellowship or affinity, or whom they may descend 
to help), they do not interfere with one another. I wrote 
her a letter of warm thanks ; and kept the following record 
of her reply: — "Brighton, March 6th, 1874. — I ought to 
have said that I was ' impressed ' or ' desired ' to send the 
drawing to you, being a Christian Spiritualist, and so I did 
it. You are perhaps a Head Centre for the feeble folk, 
Christians who are at the same time Spiritualists." Her 
expression has reminded me of the same term having been 
applied to me at one of our evening meetings at Mr. Spear's 
towards the latter end of 1868 : I have looked through my 
many manuscripts of communications given through him, 
in the hope of finding it, but my search has been in vain, so 
it was probably one of those of which I did not take notes 
at the time, and I know there was but a small portion that 
was of personal application to myself: it was on the subject 
of various centres (on which he touched more than once 
that winter), but that I was the true centre of all, and the 
term " Head Centre " was appropriated in our talk, more 
• in a joking way, because of the then stir about Stephens 
the fenian Head Centre. 

Not very long after I had received the drawing, Sir 
Charles Isham called here, and was so much struck with it 
that he said I ought to have it photographed, so as to 
enable others to share the privilege of its possession ; I 
said that I had thought of it, only that I had not ventured 
to risk the outlay without some security of a return, so he 
at once ordered three copies, and I took my drawing to 
the photographer on the following day, to be done to the 
same size as the original, and the result was a grand suc- 
cess, being I think more effective than the drawing itself, 
and it has almost the effect of an agate or marble graven 
all over with minute heads. I had the pleasure of sending 
a copy to Miss Pery herself, so as to enable her to retain 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 65 

some remembrance of her own gift, and she afterwards 
kindly sent me another, yet more finished in style ; that 
also had been done expressly for me, which I likewise had 
photographed, and it makes a good companion for the 
other. She sent me at the same time a collection of her 
earlier designs and fragmentary beginnings, which all, as it 
were, lead up to this more finished style. In August I 
had the pleasure of a visit from her of a couple of hours, 
on her way from Brighton into Northamptonshire. She 
afterwards came to reside in London, and five years ago 
took a house in this Crescent, nearly opposite me. 

I met Mrs. Gray the evening that I was at St. George's 
Hall, and had a bit of chat with her before the proceedings 
commenced, and after they were over, she again joined 
me, saying that in the interval she had had a message for 
me, to the effect that although the clouds then over- 
shadowed me very heavily, the path would soon brighten : 
she then added ; — " but you will soon receive a new 
gift." . . I hoped and believed it might be that of sight, 
which was corroborated by what was spoken through her. 
(But the " soon " of the spirits is distant for us, for the 
hope is yet unfulfilled.) I then gave her the history of my 
having worked for that gift, about nine or ten years pre- 
viously, by looking into the crystal for perhaps an hour 
every Sunday evening, according to the directions then 
given me by my invisible guides, who on each occasion 
told me when to leave ofT. I fully understood from them 
that I was not then to receive the gift, but simply to 
endeavour to fit myself for it in patience and faith : that it 
would not be the guerdon of my own exertions, but as a 
free grace in His good time from The Giver of all blessings. 
I do not remember for how many months I continued the 
practice, as I only followed out their injunctions; but, 
while looking into the crystal, I used to have some curious 
sensations in my eyes : at distant intervals, I have had 
similar feelings for a short time, when I have hoped that 
" sight " might be at hand, and I told her that such had 
been the case during the last few days. When I went on 



1 66 EVENINGS AT HOME 

the 4th of January to see Mrs. T. I gave her the long 
history of all my byegone efforts, and my hopes, which had 
thus been again aroused. I made her another visit on the 
25th, when I told her about my interview with Mrs. 
Marshall whom I had been to see on her 75th birthday 
(January 6th), and she was much interested to hear that 
the old lady, in the midst of our talk, had suddenly said, — 
" And you are going to have visions, and very grand ones 
they will be ; " with more to the same effect. 

Mrs. T. and I had a snug tete-a-tete after tea, 
and I had the feeling to mesmerise her, but asked first 
if she should have any fear of being entranced, as 
she is still so poorly, but on the contrary she said 
she should be glad of it, having had scarcely anything 
from her spirit friends since she had moved. At first it 
was all curative, but then we went to the eyes, when she 
soon passed under influence ; and a rather long communi- 
cation was given. Presently she opened her eyes, and I 
made a few passes, expecting that they were to bring her 
to, instead of which she again became entranced, and said : 
■ — "When, in fulness of time, the mantle shall fall from 
the shoulders of that aged pilgrim, it will descend to rest 
hereafter upon you. Even now she dimly sees a portion 
of your future life, and she will be constrained to prophesy 
of the link which has, and will continue to unite you to- 
gether in this great movement. It is recommended that 
you set aside a small portion of time once a month to spend 
with her, but this is of course left to your sense of what is 
fit and right. Already the mantle is loosened." . . . She 
then awoke, and when I had read it to her, I mentioned 
that Mrs. Marshall had said to me ; " It seems that I 
have often told you that we are united in our work : " to 
which I answered, " Yes, because we both look to the 
Bible as the original evidence of Spiritualism, and as still 
to be our land-mark." 

It was decided by my counsellors that I should go 
always to my old friend for an hour or two on the first 
Tuesday in the month, to have a pleasant social chat, and 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 67 

I was gratified by her delight when I told her of my inten- 
tion, as hers had of late become rather a solitary life, her 
mediumship having so little of the phenomenal phases 
which are now run after, for excitement's sake rather than 
any seeking after truth. I went to see her on the even- 
ing of February 3rd, taking the small gift that my means 
admitted, and it did not seem to me as if much had come, 
but looking back to the fragments in the course of con- 
versation, there certainly were some curious things. In 
the middle of our talk, she said— "The voice is saying 
Honour thy father and thy mother." — In the early part of 
my ministrations to her (when, years ago, her leg was bad, 
and I used to go and mesmerise her three times a week), 
that commandment used almost always to be said to her - 
in my presence, and once she asked the spirit why that 
was said, and the answer was, " Because she knows it, and 
does it." ... I mesmerised her on this occasion, curatively, 
several times; but the phrases spoken to her by the "voice" 
did not seem to be the result of it, but came incidentally 
now and then, and I will write them down as they arise in 
my mind. . . " I will bless you in your basket and in your 
store, — fear not." . . . "I am told we are both to work, and 
have much before us." . . . "You will have revelations 
the same as mine, and visions with them — revelations and 
visions." ..." A great flood of power will be poured up- 
on you, but you will not be overwhelmed, for you have 
already been enlarged to receive it, and it will fill you with 
a mighty power." I had to do a curious mesmeric action, 
striking one hand into the other, alternately, with much 
force, and she said : " It means, — I will fill you on the 
right hand and on the left, and I will be with you on 
every side." 

I had a letter from Mrs. Spear, dated October 22nd, 
1872, in which she says, " I met a few weeks since, a quite 
remarkable medium, and after reading a number of her 
communications, the style of which is very peculiar, I 
began to like them unusually well, and I felt like sending 



1 68 EVENINGS AT HOME 

her one of your letters, and asking for what she might 
write while holding it. She sent me the enclosed." 

I here copy the communication, although the style is 
peculiar, especially to our quiet English notions, but it con- 
veyed some things that I knew to be true, and we can 
understand her singularities of diction as the outflow from 
her especial band of influences, and I feel that each 
variety from the other side has its own character of 
interest. 

" Lovely life is before thee. Many heart homes will be 
blessed away from thy own land even by thy own powers. 

" Banished art thou from the full life of realization : ban- 
ished from the Loves as the moments pass along : banished 
from the Loves of heart-life as thy own soul would desire, 
but made white in the Living Life of Labour : — for thy 
form is habited in royal robes and thy feet are clad in 
sandals of Purity. One day- dawning for thy own life is 
near at hand, when tides of emotion will roll over thy 
soul lands, and musical utterances will be heard on the 
air waves of harmonies. 

" Blessings are coming to thee — are coming as pearls of 
great price are coming, and fame shall be thine own. 
Blessed art thou. A home love thy heart giveth to all 
humanity. Thy sweet wave of love goeth out over all 
lands, and heart histories are the ones to be related to thee 
on a coming time. Beautiful soul language thy own life 
uttereth : home harps are thy own to give unto many. 
Dost know one lovely landscape seen around thy form 
speaketh of the starry orbs whose rays fall on thy own 
garments, and relate to earth dwellers. Thy love hath 
attracted the holy lives of the Celestials : — borne to thee are 
anthems from chimes afar. , Borne to thee are heavenly 
songs from the lands of America, banishing fears of the 
laying aside of the garments of growth for humanity's up- 
rising. Home loves must speak to thy soul of the vast 
work to be done. Oceanic waves roll over thy soul and 
master artists speak in love tones of the landscapes to be 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 69 

lain out. — Behind a door thy form has stood — seen no full 
forms of realization. Near at hand are fulfilments of 
prophecies, and beyond thy own seeing will love bless the 
lives of the true labourers. Bounding billows have been thy 
home — fears have attended thy form — hopes have arisen 
but to pass away. So Love hath promised thee heights to 
rest on : and so it shall be given thee to speak to the wisdom 
powers, and thy ears shall listen, thy soul respond. 

" Bear ever in mind, compensation will come for all thy 
labours — co?npefisatlon — and fully will revealments come 
according to thy own conceptions. — Below, on the ground, 
look and see the forms of lowliness arising ; see the open 
avenues, and love to gird on the armour sent to thee by 
angels of wisdom. Go forth laden with wealth, knowing 
mighty powers are in life assisting • heralding the glad 
tidings that Peace and Harmony must become earth 
dwellers. 

" Write one letter to this writer, and nearer can the lights 
come, even from the contact. Borne to thee Love from 
many hearts in the lands of America in the coming time. 
Let this be one greeting to thy soul." 

Mrs. Spear added the name and address of the medium 
(the latter I suppose may have long been altered). " Mrs. 
Juliette Manley. Box 454, Erie, Pennsylvania, U. S. A." 
I wrote to her, enclosing a small fee, as my limited means 
precluded a larger one ; and the communication that 
resulted from it was written on the 5th of January 1873, 
and touched upon the innermost depths of my life, known 
but to few. The concluding sentences are as follows. 

" One thanksgiving uttered in song, cometh readily to 
thy lips : one golden fruitage season is coming to thy own 
life, — owning large lands : the way will be over the mountains 
to places where rest, peace, and content will beautify your 
whole life-garment. One Harvester art thou called. . . . 
Blessed art thou, Oh woman of Love : a sweet willingness 
to do all thy duties well, hath endeared thee to many 
angels of growth." 

I think it was towards the close of the last year that Mrs. 



170 EVENINGS AT HOME 

Hollis had come for her first visit to England, and I had 
known of the stereoscopic photograph taken of her and an 
Indian spirit by Mr. Hudson. Mrs. T. had talked with 
me of what we had severally heard, and she thought she 
would like to have a seance and wished me to accompany 
her, and also that I should write about making all the ar- 
rangements without mentioning her name in any way, and 
it was finally fixed for March 10th at half-past three, and 
I was to meet her there at the appointed time. She had 
had a communication from Mr. Spear that had made her 
rather anxious about her own health, but I had interpreted 
it as having a different signification to what she had done ; 
however she gave the letter to me a day or two before and 
I was to take it in my pocket to Torrington Street. Mrs. 
Hollis shewed us her compact little table, which, as far as I 
recollect, could be folded up to put into her travelling 
trunk, but there was undoubtedly no wonderful machinery 
about its slight framework ; and we were already seated by 
it when Mrs. Hollis covered it with a cloth ; she then 
placed a small piece of pencil on a slate, and held the 
slate in the dark chamber thus formed by the cloth, which 
she however turned back so that we could see her wrist all 
the time, while her other hand rested quietly in her lap. 
We shortly heard the pencil busily writing, and when it was 
dropped by the unseen holder upon the slate, Mrs. Hollis 
drew it forth, for us to read whatever message might have 
been written ; which was then rubbed out, and the slate was 
again held under the table, for the answer to the next query. 
I deeply regret that I did not write out each of those 
messages, so as to have been able to give the whole details, 
but I remember all the facts, and I think only one message 
had been written, when I took the letter out of my pocket and 
laid it on the table without a word of observation, and Mrs. 
T. asked if any information could be given as to that 
letter, and we immediately heard an invisible friend at work, 
and when Mrs. Hollis took out the slate, upon it was written, 
" What Miss Houghton told you was quite correct." 

Messages were given about her expected infant, and it 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 17I 

was strongly impressed upon her that she was to be with 
me as frequently and as much as she possibly could, for her 
own sake, but more especially for that of the child, who 
would thus gather elements from me towards the formation 
of .some of her attributes. It was also suggested that even 
when we were apart, I was to keep her and the coming 
babe as much in my thoughts as I could, so as to strengthen 
the link between us. The communications were full of 
deep interest. I then asked who was the spirit who was 
counselling, and the written answer was, " John, Miss 
Houghton." I said that we had several friends in the 
spirit world bearing that name, so we should feel obliged 
by a closer definition, and to Mrs, Hollis's surprise, when 
she. again drew forth the slate, upon it was written 
" Patmos," and she said that no spirit of that calibre had 
ever written on that slate before ; to which I rejoined that 
he was a dear friend to us both, and I told her of Mrs. T.'s 
vision of his presence with me on the 23rd of November 
1870 : and thus our pleasant visit to her came to an end. 

I know also that in one of Mr. Spear's letters to her at 
about that time, he had recommended that she should be as 
much as possible in the companionship of the Holy Symbo- 
list, for the influences that might be thus garnered in. 



172 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER XII. 

The British National Association of Spiritualists was making 
its quiet advances in growth, although there were powerful 
dissentient voices, and one of the most curious arguments 
against it was that of its being likely to become a large 
body ; some persons being of opinion that the formation 
of any amount of small societies all over the kingdom 
might be desirable, but it was comprehensive union that 
was objectionable. Others were of opinion that it might 
become too powerful, and that individual efforts might 
thereby suffer : but Spiritualism will ultimately embrace the 
whole world, so that surely there will be room for every 
variety and method of work, and the more closely the links 
may be drawn, the more perfect is likely to be the whole. 
In that early time, Mr. Blyton was the secretary, besides 
whom there were two most active and energetic honorary 
secretaries : Mr. Algernon Joy and Miss Kislingbury, the 
latter of whom exercised her great knowledge of all conti- 
nental languages in correspondence with foreign Spiritualists 
in different parts of the world to enlist their sympathy in 
the undertaking. There must indeed have been an arduous 
amount of work in organizing and formulating so great a 
scheme ; for there were so many points and questions to be 
taken into consideration. It had however been gradually 
shaped, and on the 16th of April 1874 a grand inaugural 
Soiree was held in Cleveland Hall, to which of course I 
went, and a very pleasant evening it was. 

Two days later I accompanied my sister to the Dudley 
Gallery, when Mr. McNair told us that a new class of 
exhibition was in contemplation, for works of art in Black 
and White, and he suggested that I should do a drawing 
for it : — neutral tints would also be admissible. I scarcely 
thought much about it at the moment, for I knew that he 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. I 73 

only alluded to secular work, which I had given up ever 
since Zilla's death in 185 1, and which I knew would never 
be resumed. But after my return home, I got into con- 
sultation upon the subject, and found that I should be 
aided to do a good-sized drawing, which was afterwards 
thus described in my book of interpretations. 

A Monogram has been executed in the hope of its being 
accepted for the forthcoming exhibition of " Black and 
White," to be held in the Dudley Gallery. It was com- 
menced with pen and ink, and was finished with brushes 
and water-colours, Chinese white and lamp black. 

" B. N. A. S. Monogram of the British National Associa- 
tion of Spiritualists. 

" Spiritualists have now united themselves under a very 
large and comprehensive denomination, and we trust that 
they will do their utmost to vindicate the title they have 
assumed, by merging all personal feelings in the one great 
bond of their acceptance of the fact that in these days open 
communication between the visible and the so-called in- 
visible is again being granted to mankind. If they heartily 
concur in this, they must be content to bear with one 
another under the many points wherein they cannot fail 
to differ, for each man is individual, and therefore will 
accept only what shews itself to him as a truth. He is 
also under the dominion of earthly passions and weak- 
nesses, and cannot see clearly, so that even of that truth 
he may at present be able to grasp but a very small frag- 
ment, but his powers will grow if he finds that those who 
have obtained a larger share, have thereby been filled with 
so infinite a tenderness to their fellow-men that instead of 
pressing them down for their misdeeds, they will strive to 
bestow upon them a portion of their own strength to 
enable them to resist temptation when it again assails 
them. Such is the full meaning of Association, and 
when thus linking itself with the British Nation of Spiri- 
tualists, it must take all within its folds, whether or no 
they may have enrolled themselves within its ranks, or 
it will run the risk of becoming a dominant power which 



174 EVENINGS AT HOME 

might be injurious to those who have not united them- 
selves to it. 

" In the monogram we have striven to shew by means of 
myriads of interlaced threads, the lines of thought and life 
pursued by individuals, each having a specific aim, and 
perhaps in their termination uniting with certain others, 
although not following the same course, the very diver- 
gences being productive of harmonious results as to the 
formation of the whole. 

" The S, in its fulness of size,, represents Spiritualism 
itself rather than only those who have accepted its revela- 
tions, for the day is not far distant when all mankind will 
bask in some portion of the light thus shed upon them. 
The B shews how lovingly the true Briton embraces the 
blessing, and we comprehend within that term the multi- 
tudes in distant lands whose ancestors went forth to seek 
fresh fields of action for their indomitable energies, the N 
signifying those whose joy is in the nation to which they 
still belong or from which they have sprung. The A is 
like a bell, ringing its peal to attract the attention of those 
unheeding ones who know not of the manifestations now 
taking place in their midst, therefore a small portion of it 
extends beyond the S. It may not toll, like the mournful 
passing-bell, but must send forth a joyous sound, to teach 
that the gate of death is but the entrance into immortality, 
and that well-doing will lead to happiness in the hereafter : 
— but still the whole message must be given, — that sin and 
selfishness will meet with retribution, and that full expiation 
must be made for the evil deeds done in the flesh, but that 
there is One Who will ever hearken to the repentant sinner 
who truly seeks Him, even if long ages have passed in 
darkness and despair. This is the great lesson that Spiri- 
tualists have to teach, more especially to those troubled 
souls in prison, who are groping in what seems to them an 
eternity of misery, because they know not that even for 
them there may be a hope ; although to many in the long 
ago past that message was carried by Christ Himself, and 
His followers must seek in this day thus to walk in His 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 75 

footsteps now that the way has been opened to them by the 
power of Spirit Communion." 

I took my drawing on the appointed day to the Dudley 
Gallery, but it was rejected by the hanging committee, and 
I still think that, although doubtless that result must have 
been the best for me, as far as the exhibition was concerned, 
they made a decided mistake, for it had the advantage of 
being quite unlike anything else in the gallery, and would 
therefore have had the charm of variety. Perhaps they 
may have feared lest, by admitting it, they might be sup- 
posed to favour Spiritualism, but that, most assuredly, is 
out of the reach either of their favour or disfavour. I 
presume that the real object of its execution was that 
I should present it to the Association, which was what I 
eventually did. But I have still somewhat to say on that 
subject. I do not remember whether it was at that 
inaugural meeting that the announcement was made as to 
the Declaration they had drawn up of their Principles and 
Purposes ; but it was published and disseminated, and I 
subjoin two of the paragraphs. 

" The Association, while cordially sympathizing with the 
teachings of Jesus Christ, will hold itself entirely aloof from 
all dogmatism or finalities, whether religious or philoso- 
phical, and will content itself with the establishment and 
elucidation of well-attested facts, as the only basis on which 
any true religion or philosophy can be founded. 

" The Association proposes, when circumstances permit, 
to establish a Central Institution, comprising a Hall, 
Lecture and Seance Rooms, also a Library for the use of 
Members, and for the benefit of all students of psychical 
and spiritual phenomena ; to keep a register of Mediums 
or Psychics, with the view of affording facilities for investi- 
gation ; and to promote co-operation and intercommunion 
between Spiritualists in all parts of the world." 

I will grant to any caviller on that question that the 
language used with reference to Our Lord might have been 
in a higher strain, but He Himself says in S. Mark ix. 40, 
" For he that is not against us is on our part." And it 



176 EVENINGS AT HOME 

was that paragraph, and that alone, that made me again 
consult the messengers from Above, as to whether I should 
now become a member of the Association, when I received 
an immediate affirmative. I do not expect that all my 
co-workers should be Christians as well as Spiritualists, for, 
alas! I know how blinded the world is; but by that Declara- 
tion I was ensured against attacks upon what I regard as 
the Central Truth of life ; therefore I could join hand-in- 
hand with them to propagate as far as possible the new 
teaching in its multifarious forms, while in my home I may 
continue my own fuller life. One thing that always strikes 
me as so very anomalous is, that persons who consider 
themselves liberal in their views, would yet wish to narrow 
others down to their own poor level : they would let a 
person be as rampantly irreligious as they please, but the 
moment Christianity in any shape or form is acknowledged, 
that must be beaten to the ground : — and I would simply 
enquire where then is their liberality of belief? liberality 
of unbeYief it may be that they do possess. 

I think it was through Mr. Bennett that I declared my 
adhesion, and on the 22nd of May I received my ticket of 
membership, and two or three days later Mrs. T. came 
to see me, when I told her that I had joined the Associa- 
tion. " Yes, I know it : " was her reply ; which rather sur- 
prised me, for I could not think who should so soon have 
known it to tell her : but the intelligence had been com- 
municated to her by her spirit friends, and that seemed to 
give some sort of importance to what I had done. I said 
I had no doubt but that she would some day do the same, 
although she did not then think it likely, for Mr. T.'s 
view was that he could do more good to the universal cause 
while unlinked to any one thing in the shape of a party-^- 
I however hoped that this would have nothing of a party 
character in it, but be as universal as he could wish. But 
still, the impression came to me strongly that a time would 
come when she would feel it, not only judicious, but impera- 
tive upon her to join, so I asked the promise that when 
such should be the case, she would accord me the privilege 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 77 

of nominating her, which she freely gave, although still 
thinking it very unlikely to come to fulfilment. 

I was then elected a member of the Council. At that 
time, their meetings were held in one of Lawson's Rooms, 
Gower Street, where my first attendance was on the 15th 
of July and the next on the 31st. In those days there was 
still a large amount of preliminary work to be done, and a 
great deal of anxious discussion took place that every step 
should be the very wisest and best that could be thought 
of: there really appeared to be but one motive — the good 
of the work — and although there might be some differences 
of opinion as to the how and the what, there was no alloy 
of selfism apparent. But I understood that there had been 
rather hot debates before the " Declaration " had been 
finally drawn out, and it was still creating outside discus- 
sion : some of our Christian members withdrawing their 
names because of the wording of that clause, while others 
objected to it altogether ; and the matter was again brought 
so much before the Board that it was finally decided to put 
it to the vote of the whole Association (by voting papers 
to be posted), as to whether it should be retained or with- 
drawn, and I am sorry to say that there was a very con- 
siderable majority as to its withdrawal. I again asked 
counsel as to whether that was to make any change with 
regard to my retaining my membership, and I was author- 
ised to adhere to it, and to rest assured that that clause 
would still continue virtually effective, and I am thankful to 
say that such has been the case. I cannot carry back my 
memory to all the steps that were taken, but the great desire 
was to obtain a permanent home, so as to carry out the 
second clause that I have quoted ; and those two energetic 
and hard-working members, Mr. Bennett and Mr. Dawson 
Rogers, tramped over a considerable portion of London, up 
and down no end of lengthy staircases in empty houses 
without number, until they finally decided upon the one 
we have in Great Russell Street j but I see it was not until 
the 23rd of March 1875, that we held our first Council 
meeting there \ but of course even after the house was 

M 



178 EVENINGS AT HOME 

taken, there was a great amount of work in seeing after the 
purchase of furniture, &c. &c, and the two most active in 
that respect were still Mr. Bennett and Mr. Rogers, although 
they had also the wise advice and aid of some of the lady 
members of the Council ; for they not only had to furnish, 
but to do it in the most economical manner they could, as 
the funds never came in sufficiently to make it all plain sail- 
ing. There were some handsome contributions towards the 
establishment of the library by gifts both of money and 
books, so that gradually we have accumulated a most valu- 
able collection ; the larger proportion of which are our own, 
although at first a good many were lent, so as to form a 
good substratum ; but I know that a portion of these have 
been recalled by their owners to do a work in other parts 
of the world, but at our monthly Council meetings we 
generally receive the addition of several presentations of the 
fresh works connected with our subject that are of value. 
There have likewise been many other gifts appertaining to 
Spiritualism, such as photographs, drawings, casts, and such 
like wonderful evidences from the invisible world. One 
great drawback to the rooms was the insufficiency of space 
for an evening gathering, or at least it was the inconvenience 
of the separation of one portion of the company from the 
other, for a dense wall separated the Reading Room entirely 
from the Council Room, and people could only go from 
the one to the other by way of the staircase landing. The 
landlord was then applied to for permission to take down 
that wall and replace it with large folding-doors, which will 
throw open to the fullest extent, when a fund was raised to 
meet the expense ; and I must here add a word as to the 
unfailing consideration and liberal help always extended in 
one form or other by our dear President, Mr. Calder, who 
in all emergencies has come forward generously with aid. 

I scarcely dare trust myself to speak of some of the 
impediments that have been thrown in our path, when the 
battle has been so fierce that once or twice it has seemed 
as if the Association must succumb, but, thank God ! it has 
weathered through some desperate storms, although its 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. I 79 

expenses have been compelled to be reduced to the very- 
narrowest possible limits, so that the work it would fain do 
in many directions is as yet utterly impossible; but it is 
rallying, and gaining fresh strength month by month in the 
shape of new members, so I trust we may yet see the day 
when it may carry out its original programme, and do great 
things in every department of spiritual work. One great 
trouble was in the last year, 1880, when my thought as to 
Mrs. T. was fully realised, and she felt that it was indeed 
a duty to strengthen us in our then struggle by the weight 
of her name, in becoming a member of the Association, and 
I had the promised pleasure of making the triumphant 
announcement at our monthly meeting. 

During all this time, things had been going from bad to 
worse with poor Mr. Hudson : the winter had been densely 
foggy, which was not only prejudicial to photographic work, 
but was bad for spiritual manifestations that were in any 
way allied to the physical, and Mr. Williams said that there 
were some nights when they could not in their seances even 
obtain the raps. It was a season particularly to be remem- 
bered, for the fog so seriously affected the fat animals of 
the cattle-show, that many of them had to be killed, as it 
was impossible for them to breathe, and they would have 
died from suffocation. Gradually, from week to week, I 
noted the absence of familiar articles of furniture belonging 
to the specimen-room, which was the one I frequented, and 
at last I was greeted with the sad intelligence that there was 
an execution in the home of wonders in Palmer Terrace. 
Mrs. Guppy kindly took home one of the daughters for the 
time, and made great exertions in his behalf, drawing forth 
sympathy and aid from other quarters, so that in course of 
time he was re-established in a small studio at Notting 
Hill : — all of which I have detailed more fully elsewhere, 
but I must needs also allude to it here, as of course my 
own daily life was much affected by the change : — that 
occupation being gone. 

It had seemed to me almost as if the drawing work were 
utterly set aside, it was so long since I had done any, the 



l8o EVENINGS AT HOME 

last having been finished in August 1872, and even the 
B. N. A. S. monogram of that spring, had been worked in 
pen and ink for the earlier stage. Now there came upon 
me the impression that perhaps I was to resume it, and I 
was confirmed in it upon enquiry : but I was to bring down 
a new drawing-block, twice the size of those I was in the 
habit of using, and I was soon again revelling among my 
colours and brushes ; the subject also being a new one, 
and was entitled " One of the Many Mansions," of which I 
have never exactly received the interpretation, but, having 
been completed a day or two before, I took it with me on 
the 9th of July to Mrs. TVs, and soon had the pleasure 
of exhibiting it to her and Miss Dornbusch ; and after a 
time, Mrs. T. said : " It comes to me that the person 
whose home that is, is already dwelling as it were in that 
kind of oval on the left, and that there is but a very thin 
partition between that and the interior." She would have 
said more, but I saw she was almost passing under influence, 
so I prevented it, as I knew we should be soon summoned 
to tea, and that it would be injurious for her to be disturbed. 
Later in the evening, when she and I were alone together, 
I again placed it on a chair before her, and she soon said : 
" They are again telling me that the person whose home 
this is, is now dwelling within that oval, one side of which 
is thin, very thin, and when it opens a clear view will come 
to the person." (Then as if from herself, she said, " I do 
not see how the opening is to come, unless by death : " she 
then continued by impression.) " I see, as I look at it, that 
the light is going through the opening, so that the inhabitant 
is conscious of the near presence of the spirit world, but 
does not know of the life in it just separated by the wall. 
I think it is a female — a very feminine nature it certainly 
is." She now passed into trance, and thus continued : — 
" The rent in the wall will come by force, but it will close 
again, still leaving the inhabitant in this world, but she will 
have seen her home which is here pictured. The rupture 
will be closed by a direct spirit action, contrary to the usual 
order : for when such an opening is made, the spirit must 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANGE. IS I 

pass through, and having passed through, there is no retur?i 
without such aid. The wall is hourly growing thinner, and 
only a sharp stroke given at the weakest part is needed to 
break it. For the occupant it would be the highest happi- 
ness to go out and not to return, but there is further work 
here, which will be best accomplished by such an experi- 
ence. God works in a mysterious way His wonders to 
perform, and nought is left to chance." She then awoke, 
and I read it to her. Before I came away, she said, "It 
seems to me there will be some change ere we meet again ; 
I do not know whether to you or to me, but I think to 
yoiC — Perhaps I looked startled, for she added, " The 
change may be a pleasant one, so we will look forward to 
it." . . . The only change I can now trace out, seems to 
have been my taking a seat as a member of the Council of 
our Association, with which I have ever since been so closely 
united ; may God grant to it more, and fuller prosperity. 

After having finished the drawing, I had been instructed 
to enclose the painting-rag I had used to my friend at 
Guildford, authoress of the charming little volume of " The 
Songs of the Spirit," in the hope that although she had 
not seen the picture, she might through that influence be 
inspired to write a poem on the subject. At her own home 
she could not do it, but she went for a short visit to her 
brother-in-law and sister, when the following sweet poem 
was written through her mediumship : — 

" Spirit Homes? 

" If Spirit homes are beautiful, 

What must the Spirit be, 
Which wrought those mansions for itself 

So swiftly — subtle-ly ? 
Out-wrought those walls with gorgeous hues, 

Those windows tall and fair, 
Painted those pictures on the walls, 

And wove those curtains there ? 

" Who made that stone of amethyst ? 
Who carved those gates of pearl ? 
Who wrought those banners beautiful 
Whose silken lengths unfurl ? — 



1 82 EVENINGS AT HOME 

With colours such as setting sun 

Dyes all the clouds above — 
And on whose folds the words we read, 

' His banner it was Love.' 

" i If Spirit homes are beautiful?' 

— No earthly words can trace 
The deep mysterious joy of things 

Which fills the heavenly space : — 
We cannot into mortal speech 

Put visions which we see 
Of piles of mansions glorious 

And wondrous masonry ! i 

" Of colours of immortal stones, 

And jewels so set therein 
That all the rays are seas of light 

In which deep voices swim — 
Where sound is colour, colour, sound, 

And form partakes of each, 
Where every line and tint and curve 

God's inward lessons teach. 

" How can we tell of windows grand 

With shapes unknown to art, 
From out whose casements all the scenes 

Of past life brightly start ; 
Of organs pealing songs of praise 

Whose notes like silver gleam, 
And stringed Harps whose symphonies 

Are as a rainbow stream ? 

" And over all the fair light falls 

Straight from the Throne on high,' 
Upon which beam the Angel hosts 

Pass ever swiftly by — 
Each leaving as they go some gift 

For her who dwelleth there — 
Some gift which garnisheth the home, 

And maketh her more fair. 

" No ! mortal words are powerless 

To tell of homes beyond — 
We can but send our echoes down 

Upon some heart so fond — 
And this heart strives to put in words 

The echoes it has heard — 
Echoes indeed — faint echoes too — 

Of beauty of The Lord." E. F. C. 

"Written for Miss Houghton, on Sunday morning, the 12th of 
July 1874, by one who has seen her painting. E. F. C." 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 83 

I have never learnt to whom it is that this Home belongs, 
but I dare say it may one day be made clear, and in both 
the spirit communications the owner is spoken of as 
feminine. It carries no thought of a home such as we 
might conceive, but it gives the idea of arched corridors, 
and of infinite expanse, with a sort of entirely open entrance, 
like a proscenium. 

Another Mansion was then done, but this appears like 
the outside front, and there is a closed doorway under an 
arch. Nor have I any idea as to its intended inhabitant, 
who evidently does not, while tabernacling here below, pass 
in and out of it. Another special difference between the 
two is, that the first appears to be bathed in full sunlight, 
while the second seems to dwell under moonbeams, with 
wondrously pearly rays of softest, sweetest tints. When it 
was finished, I was again directed to send the painting-rag 
I had used during its execution to H. H., who was staying 
with her sister at the time, but the poem could not all be 
written at one sitting, and in her accompanyingletter she says : 
— "The first poem expressed to me form, this one, sound." 

"Seraphic Gleams." 

" A white-robed army praises sing 

Unto their Leader's name : 
A seraph host in accents sweet 

Tell of their Master's fame — 
A single treble faintly falls 

In droppings on my ear, — 
A mighty band of instruments 

Pour thunder on the air. 

" Above the army clouds are set 

Of purple amethyst, 
Whose shape and hue no mortal heart 

Hath ever fairly guessed — 
The seraph host upon their wings 

Bear streams of silver spray, 
Which flash in brightness over them, 

Then fall in light away — 

" The single singer round his head 
Bears rays of changing sheen, 
Which rise or fall in gentle time 
Each varying note between : 



EVENINGS AT HOME 

The mighty band not sound alone 

Pours on the trembling air, 
But makes all hues of colour rich, 

And forms — fantastic fair. 

" They move along to notes alike 

Passing one road the whole — 
The road which leadeth up to Him, 

The Lord of life and soul — 
Passing with beauty richly grand 

And music strangely sweet, 
To gather with the Sons of God, 

Around the Father's feet. 

" Homes these have fashioned for themselves, 

Each weaving out his own ; 
"Wherein the work of life on earth 

Is to the Angels shewn — 
Bright dwellings of those serried hosts, 

Full of their hearts' desire ; 
"Wrought by the action of the soul, 

And lit with soulic fire. 

" Adorned with pictured walls are they, 

And hung with clouds of air, 
Which take the rapture of the mind, 

And Jix that rapture there. 
"Within these homes are companies 

Of soul-entrancing notes, 
"Which wake that soul to melody 

That ever round you floats. 

" And rest — sweet rest of perfect ease. 

Peace — rapture — rest — in one, 
The blending of the harmonies 

Long past — with those begun — 
A never-ceasing stream of joy, 

A murmur of content, 
An overlying symphony 

By life's deep breathing lent. 

'* An undesired thrill of sound] 

(Desire heir not needed), 
' "Which passes down from heaven — below 
To fall on ears unheeded. 
These are but symbols of the home 

Prepared by spirit power ; 
Spirit divine — which from the Lord 
Flows down from hour to hour." 

Begun 25th, finished 26th August 1874. E. F. C 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 85 

In the following April I went to stay with Mr. and Mrs. 
Bennett from Saturday till Monday, and on one of the 
evenings two lady friends came in. Through the medium- 
ship of one of them, in trance, the following communication 
on the same subject was given. 

" To All. 

" I wish to say that your mansions are being built up 
very quickly ; Miss Houghton has added a great many 
rooms to hers of late. 

" Day by day and hour by hour you build up. Time 
and space are not. Your work is not accounted by earth 
days. You may build a whole room in one hour of your 
earth time, or you may be weeks, months, nay years, and 
not add one stone. 

" Love and charity to others build up a room of which the 
walls are one blaze of what you would call rubies. Most 
glorious are those rooms of which the lustre is ever chang- 
ing, opaline colours constantly flashing through. That is 
where the daily work and the daily life are done not for 
self, nor for others, to receive human gratitude or approba- 
tion — but done for the Master's sake. 

"You must pray, — for much prayer makes a window in 
the house. As prayer lets in the light of heaven in your 
souls, so prayer r lets in the light of God's glory. Many 
people build houses up above, and there are no windows to 
let the light in. Prayer lets in the light of God's glory 
into your homes." 

To Miss Houghton. 

" I wish you to remember Elijah and the ravens. Day 
by day will the strength come. Day by day in the wilder- 
ness was the manna given. There was none to be gathered 
up for the next day. None to be left through the night — 
God means that thus you shall work for Him until He 
chooses to alter His way concerning you. When that time 
comes He will warn you beforehand. He needs many to 
shew to an unbelieving world that Faith is the engine that 



1 86 EVENINGS AT HOME 

is to remove mountains. You will find His promises ful- 
filled in a yet more extraordinary way than any that has 
yet come to you. By hands that you know not will the 
help be given, at the time and not before. 

" We shall be yet more faithful and loving because you 
have done your work tenderly and conscientiously, and 
have thought not of the applause of men, but that you 
should do it for your Master, Christ. ' To him that over- 
cometh will I grant to sit with me on a white throne, even 
as I overcame."' 

Sweetly indeed did that message then come to my soul, 
for already was I beginning to undergo what, as other 
years have passed on, has pressed more and more heavily 
upon me : — the difficulty from day to day, and even hour 
to hour, of a something coming in that should meet my 
absolute needs : — but still the word has been — " Make no 
change in thy life's surroundings — Maintain still thy home 
in its apparent externals, however straitened may be 
thine inward existence ; for even such is The Lord's Will. 
The time will yet come when the world will see and 
acknowledge that a wisdom beyond theirs has guided thine 
actions. Remember also that thy very trials give oppor- 
tunities to God's earthly angels to come ministeringly to 
thine aid, and thus they fill their own lives with blessings 
by blessing thine. Receive each gift, small or large, as 
from Him, and grieve not that He hath laid upon thee the 
Cross of apparent humiliation in having to accept what 
thou hast not earned ; He seeth thy work, and knoweth 
that the labourer is worthy of her hire." 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 87 



CHAPTER XIII. 

I went to see Mrs. T. a day or two after I had resumed 
my artistic work by commencing the heavenly mansion just 
alluded to ; but the earlier part of our conversation had 
reference to the persecutions and trials undergone by Mrs. 
P. in her unsought communion with the invisible world ; 
for her inner or spiritual senses seem to have been opened 
without any effort on her own part. Her experiences were 
indeed terrible, many details of which I have given in the 
photographic chronicles, but she realised that notwithstand- 
ing all her sufferings, the blessings conferred by the higher 
communion fully outweighed them, and on no account 
would she have returned to the mere earthiness of her 
former state. I had had a letter from her that morning, in 
which she had referred to a former message through Mrs. 
T. for her; but nothing came that evening, and I have 
only made this slight mention of her now, because I have 
reserved one of her communications for this volume. 

We touched upon many themes, and especially upon my 
being once more established at my easel after so long a 
cessation of that class of work. After awhile I was im- 
pressed to mesmerise her, when she passed into deep 
trance, and said : — " Now, as in the earlier times, there are 
diversities of gifts but the same Spirit, which worketh with 
varied manifestations in the same person or other ones. 
The more highly organised the medium, the greater the 
susceptibility in every faculty of mind : — such an one can 
be influenced in several directions, and the spirit power 
passes with ease for the time being to that faculty which is 
exercised, and it remains there for the special manifestation, 
or is then, in such an individual, readily diverted to another 
channel. Hence you may have the gifts of seeing, hearing, 
perception, and speech, in the same body, and according 



1 88 EVENINGS AT HOME 

to the natural development shall be the fulness of each 
form of manifestation. (Extending her hand emphatically 
towards me,) You may covet earnestly the best gifts, and it 
shall be granted to you to receive a very high form of 
manifestation of that gift you may seek, and it shall be 
shewn how you had best use the gift. You may, if you 
will, knock at the door until it is opened, and the whole 
inner condition of spirit life revealed, seen, apprehended, 
and if you so desire it may be expounded by you." [I 
desire only to do that which may be my best work.] " It 
is well. — Please bear in mind that only one faculty can be 
fully stimulated at one time. The power employed, if 
diverted into several channels, loses force, so we recom- 
mend that you seek the best gift for the time, leaving as 
you have ever done, the future to God. Behind a frowning 
providence He hides a smiling Face, and the veil shall be 
removed soon. If, in God's providence, it should be made 
clear that you could work more effectually for His glory 
in this world by changing your earthly habitation for a 
heavenly mansion, could you ? " [Most gladly — but I can 
submit to whatever may be God's Will] " Peace posses- 
seth your soul, for you know that He doeth all things well. 
— The thought may rest with you, and will do its work." 
She then awoke, and I read to her what had been said, 
when she wondered who had given the communication ; 
and the answer came that it was S. John. She then 
wished me to read it again, as she had been scarcely 
roused before ; and when I had finished, she heard a voice 
say, " Peace, peace I give unto you, my peace I give unto 
you, — not as the world giveth, give I unto you." 

In that year, 1874, two of my dear ones were most happily 
married. Arthur in Batavia, on the 16th of October, and 
his one loved sister in Norwich, on the 8th of the same 
month, when I went down to the wedding, and for the very 
first time since their institution, was away from home on a 
Wednesday ! not even leaving my thoughts behind, for they 
were much too fully and joyfully engrossed with all that was 
going forward. Philie, — who for upwards of two years had 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 1 89 

been following his professional career at Swansea, with only 
occasional flying visits to London, — was of course bright, 
active, and energetic among the Norwich group ; but from 
the time of his sister's happy wedding, he began to dream 
about seeking prosperity in distant lands, the struggle being 
so hard in this densely populated Albion, so I felt our tenure 
upon him very insecure, and could only rejoice when he 
obtained a Government appointment in the Survey service 
of our own Ceylon, for which fair country he sailed, in the 
beginning of 1878, reaching Colombo on the 7th of February, 
his own birthday — a good omen indeed ; and I am thankful 
to say that he has been going on most prosperously, and is 
now, in 1881, looking out for a happy union with the lassie 
of his heart, who is just on the eve of joining him, under 
the chaperonage of a married lady friend of his who has 
been making a visit to her family in England at exactly the 
right time ; so he,|like his brother and sister, will also be 
wedded in October. God bless them all ! 

I continued my regular monthly visits to Mrs. Marshall, 
but I made no more notes of any word that may have 
come, for in truth it was not as for a seance but a friendly 
visit that I went, and we talked about all that w r as going on 
among the Spiritualists, but there was doubtless always a 
something, whether much or little. Also, as it became 
known that it was my custom to go, I was sometimes the 
bearer of a little friendly aid from others in addition to my 
own small offering — and the help was needed ! — but she 
did put her trust utterly in The Lord, and He failed her 
not ! And so it went on into the new year. Mrs. T. 
had accompanied me on the June Tuesday, when I did 
take notes, and a good deal was about the coming babe 
(who duly made her appearance in August), but much was 
political, and referred to our war in India. She now said 
she should like to go with me on the evening of February 
2nd, when we found that the poor old lady was very ill, and 
confined to her bed, but she said she should like to see us, 
and we stayed with her for about an hour, for I think our 
visit was soothing and pleasant to her, although it was very 



190 EVENINGS AT HOME 

clear that her appointed time to be released from earth's 
cares was near at hand. Mrs. T. heard the words, — 
" In thirty days," — and we thought that probably that was 
the announcement of when the end was to take place. Mrs. 
T.'s kindly gift would have to be expended in absolute 
necessaries, for we learned from Mrs. Morris how complete 
was the destitution ; and Mrs. T. went the next morning 
to enlist Mr. Burns's sympathy and aid in raising a sub- 
scription to supply her wants, and an instalment came 
quickly: the later contributions serving to defray the expenses 
of her funeral, for her time had indeed been short : she 
had lingered but ten days after our visit, dying on the 
evening of the 12th, and on the 15th' Mrs. T. and I 
went to have a farewell glance at her placid countenance 
in her coffin. I will here extract a few sentences from the 
Medium of February 19, 1875. "A ^ ew days a &° we 
were informed by Mrs. T., a lady who is so active in 
every good work, that Mrs. Marshall was very ill, and 
almost destitute. Some needful help was immediately 
afforded, and a private subscription for her relief was set 
on foot, to which several friends subscribed as soon as it 
was introduced to them. In the midst of this work it was 
reported that Mrs. Marshall passed away on Friday evening 
last, but the effort to obtain funds was continued with the 
view of meeting the funeral expenses. The interment took 
place at Paddington Cemetery. The coffin was conveyed 
in a hearse, and in the mourning coach which followed 
were Mr. Sherratt, Mr. W. Wallace, and Mr. Burns. There 
was no opportunity for giving the funeral publicity, or no 
doubt a number of friends would have attended at the 
grave. . . . Thus the faithful servant of the spirit was 
buried by her brethren ; and the wreath of immortelles 
which Mr. Sherratt kindly placed on the coffin will be 
supplemented by the sympathetic regrets of thousands of 
Spiritualists in various parts of the world." 

I must likewise quote the chief part of Mr. Shorter's 
obituary notice of her that appeared in the Spiritual 
Magazine. " Perhaps the name of no public medium in 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 191 

England was for a long time so much before the public 
as that of the late Mrs. Marshall. From her childhood 
she seems to have had the gift of communion with the 
dwellers in the spirit-world. . . . With none of the advan- 
tages of education, fortune, or social position, she was a 
simple-minded religious woman, who, in the words of the 
Catechism, did her duty in that state of life into which it 
had pleased God to call her. Faithful in the exercise of 
her gifts, she encountered with great good-humour the 
obloquy, ridicule, and abuse often heaped upon her by the 
ignorant and unthinking, especially by flippant, conceited 
writers in the public journals. Many, who were once 
sceptics and unbelievers in a spiritual world and an immortal 
life, have acknowledged that, under God and His minister- 
ing angels, it was to her they were indebted for the presen- 
tation of facts which brought home to them a conviction of 
those great truths which changed the current of their lives ; 
which have become their hope and joy and strength ; the 
sunshine of their Souls — a clear, constant light in the dark 
places of their earthly pilgrimage : and many — very many 
more — who have not made this open testimony, know full 
well how deep are their obligations to her in this respect. 

" Mrs. Marshall had her full share of earthly trial and 
affliction, but through all, Spiritualism was her strength and 
stay and enduring consolation to the end. She had a simple, 
abiding trust in the care of God, and she knew of those 
things most surely believed among us. It were to be 
wished that a biography of her, with a full account of her 
remarkable experiences, could be written; but as no diary, 
or record of the seances, was kept, I fear that little data for 
such a work exists, other than is to be found in this and 
other Spiritualist journals. She had just completed her 
76th year. It was the intention of a few friends to have 
placed a memorial stone over the place where her mortal 
remains are laid, but the shortness of time in which the 
necessary arrangements had to be made, combined with 
some misunderstanding, made this impossible. For the 
sake of any who may wish to see the spot, it may be men- 



192 EVENINGS AT HOME 

tioned that the grave is numbered 4004 in the Paddington 
Cemetery, near the Edgware Road Station of the North 
London Railway. (Mrs. T., since that time, has had a 
tree planted upon the grave.) But there could be no 
memorial of her who has gone like the ever-fragrant memory 
of her useful life and of the services she has rendered. 
Her best memorial is in the hearts of those to whom she 
has brought the assurance and comfort which the faith and 
knowledge of Spiritualism must bring to .all who live up to 
the light of its revelation. As must necessarily be the case, 
the early workers in our ranks are year by year becoming 
fewer; but let us for our encouragement remember the 
words of John Wesley, ' God buries His workmen, but He 
carries on the work. ; T. S." 

No one can feel more warmly than I do, the full truth 
of all that Mr. Shorter has said, and I could not make up 
my mind to curtail one word of it. To her, most un- 
doubtedly, I owe my own first knowledge of Spiritualism 
and its wondrous blessedness, which has been a boon beyond 
anything else that this world can give, and I am happy in 
knowing that I brightened up a little bit of the latter end 
of her life, for she always enjoyed my visits very much. 
She told me once that she had been writing some of the 
wonderful visions she had had, but I do not suppose those 
papers have been preserved. She had one weakness, poor 
dear, and that was aggravated by a weak head, so that a 
small quantity of liquor of any kind would, I understand, 
overcome her, but in my own experience, I have never 
witnessed any symptom of it, only I know that the accusa- 
tion has been made. 

On Thursday, March 4th, I was to go to Mrs. T.'s 
for the remainder of the day, after my visit to Mr. Hudson, 
and we both wondered whether there might come any 
evidence of the presence of our old friend, as that would 
be the thirty days from the time of our visit to her. I 
reached the Albert Road at about four o'clock in the after- 
noon, and I had not been very long with her before I saw 
that she was passing under influence, and she placed her 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 93 

hands in a peculiar manner, one hand, as it were, overlap- 
ping the other upon her waist. But it was some little time 
before she spoke, and said: — "Miss Houghton, — it is Miss 
Houghton, is it not ? [Oh ! yes.] But it is not Tuesday, 
is it?" Poor old soul ! how she must have calculated upon 
my visits ! — But that first day's communication was indeed 
a painful one. Of course my first question was if she were 

happy ; and the sad response was No. She had thought 

she should go at once to a happy heavenly home, but she 
had found no dwelling-place, and was just a poor, wander- 
ing, homeless spirit ; and she plaintively said : " But I did 
love The Lord — I always loved The Lord." [Yes, dear, 
you always did.] And she had thought she should go 
at once to The Lord. But alas ! as she whisperingly told 
me in shame-stricken tones, it was the drink. Neither 
could she find a resting-place here, for if she went to the 
rooms she had been living in, the same atmosphere of 
drink was there, and that harmed her yet more. [Could I 
not help her? Could she not come to me?] "No; my 
home was too sacred, she might not obtain admittance.'' 
[Could she not come to me when I was in the street, and 
thus gain strength and help ?] " Perhaps that might be 
possible, if I would think strongly about her ; at any rate 
my loving thoughts would go to her wherever she might 
be, and thus she would be helped, and gradually raised out 
of her pitiable condition." She told us that she had been 
to see her son Emanuel, and that he had done a number of 
pictures, and she also told something of what had passed 
with him. Dear, kindly-hearted soul, she wept sorely 
while making her confession, but I cheered and com- 
forted her as best I could, and she said she could always 
come to me when I should be at Mrs. T.'s, and even if 
it should not be well or expedient for her to manifest, she 
should still be able to gain something by the intercourse. 
When Mrs. T. awoke from her trance, she found her- 
self in a kind of half-sobbing state, and was deeply touched 
when I related to her the grievous history I had heard, 
which surprised us both, for we knew that she truly was 

N 



194 EVENINGS AT HOME 

religious, and that, as she said, she did love The Lord, but 
that alas ! proved insufficient unless that love should shew 
itself by j^control. I fulfilled my promise, and kept her 
much in my thoughts during my short outings, although 
some weeks elapsed ere I received any information that she 
could be by my side, and that was not until I had again 
had a little message from her at Mrs. T.'s; when she 
told me she was happier, and in mysterious undertones 
begged me to try to forget the wrong things she had done, 
for that she was getting rid of the influences that had 
clung to her. On one of my visits to Mrs. T., having 
first been to Mr. Hudson's (for at that time the Thursday 
used to be her reception-day), cake and wine had been 
handed round, of both of which I had partaken ; and when 
other callers had left, Mrs. T. was for a little while 
influenced by Mrs. Marshall, whose first signal was always 
that especial placing of the hands ; but she then told me that 
she smelled my breath of the wine, and that it gave her 
a hankering for something of the sort ! What a lesson that 
was ! By our own self-indulgence we may arrest the up- 
ward progress of those who are striving to raise themselves 
out of the depths ! But I did not again take an afternoon 
half-glass, although I had not in those days become a 
teetotaller as I have since done. — I have not taken the 
pledge, but I retired from the use of such things purely and 
entirely from motives of economy, notwithstanding that I 
almost feared lest at my time of life it might prove a hazard- 
ous proceeding with regard to my health, so the new habit 
was gradually assumed, small by degrees, and beautifully 
less, the old custom having always been a very moderate 
one, and no harm whatever has accrued, so that it will 
never be resumed. 

I must now return to 1874, and transcribe a letter that I 
addressed to the editor of the Spiritual Magazine. — "Sir, 
— I was present on Tuesday, June 23rd, at a seance at her 
own house that Mrs. Guppy kindly gave, at my request, 
for the gratification of Mr. and Mrs. Brown, of Belfast, and 
just before the conclusion, the spirit Katie, in audible voice, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 95 

asked me to write an account of it, which I have much 
pleasure in now doing. 

" The circle consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Guppy, Mr. and 
Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Petman, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Volckman, Mr. 
Swinburne, Mr. Gale (of Hull), Mr. Hudson (of Leeds), 
and myself, and the door was locked as soon as we were 
all assembled. 

" Mrs. Guppy has, by spirit direction, had a round hole 
about seven inches in diameter cut in her table, and the 
piece again fixed in with a hinge so that it can be raised 
up like a kind of lid, and that, in our first sitting, was just 
between Mrs. Brown and me. When we had sat for some 
little time, faintly glimmering lights, about the size of the 
glow-worm's lamp, were seen flitting about, and occasionally 
it seemed as if there were four or five together, but I think 
they must have been as it were attached to an opaque sub- 
stance, for every one could not see them at once, only 
as if they turned about, and were thus shewn. We 
were then, by raps, through the alphabet, told to 'wish,' 
and in answer to our questions, that we were to con- 
fine ourselves to flowers, but we only received doubtful 
responses to any that were specified, and suddenly a 
mass of something fell upon the table, when we were 
permitted to have a light, and found a heap of fragrant 
roses, white and coloured, which were a grand delight to 
my four special friends, who had never witnessed such a 
manifestation. When again in darkness, ' Sit close to the 
door,' was spelt out, and we then ascertained that Mr. Gale 
and Mr. Hudson were to leave the circle, and place them- 
selves in front of the door which was afterwards to be partly 
opened, thus admitting some light from the gas lamp in the 
hall; the ladies' dresses were then to be held up to the 
edge of the table so as to darken beneath it, and almost 
immediately the little lid was thrust up from below so as 
to leave the open space in the table. Mr. Volckman had 
before asked the spirits to bring him the branch of cherry- 
tree that had been taken to his own chambers at a seance a 
couple of evenings previously, and now up this aperture 



196 EVENINGS AT HOME 

was thrust a long branch of cherry-tree (not his, but freshly- 
gathered), and there was light enough for us all to see it 
rise; several other branches were passed up in the same 
manner, which we took from the invisible hands that gave 
them to us. Mrs. Guppy asked if they would take a rose 
from her, and on an affirmative being rapped out, she held 
a white rose over the hole, which after a time was taken 
from her, and it seemed to move backwards and forwards 
by its own volition and then disappeared. We were told 
to place a handkerchief over the hole, which we did, but 
just then there was a knock at the door, and another gentle- 
man arrived, but as Katie desired me not to mention his 
name, I will designate him as Mr H., and his entrance 
seemed to alter the conditions, for we were then told to go 
to tea, after which we strolled for some little time in the 
garden. 

"Instead of coming to the second sitting, which was 
altogether dark, Mr. Guppy and Mr. Brown went upstairs 
to the billiard-room, so that Mr. H. sat at Mrs. Guppy's 
right hand, while I retained my own place at her left. The 
table, in our movements, had been shifted round, so that 
the little lid, now closed, was in front of Mrs. Guppy. We 
had not been long seated, when the lid was flapped up and 
down, and I soon found it was being done in a sort of 
rhythm, and I exclaimed, 'Oh ! it is Jim !' for I recognised 
the beat of Jim Ramsay's signal, and then three raps were 
joyously given with it, as if exulting in the recognition. I 
then said, 'But I have not had Motee's signal to-night,' 
when immediately I felt her gentle fingers tapping the pearl 
ring. I asked her to go and touch Mrs. Petman, that she 
too might know the tender feel of a spirit hand, and she 
instantly complied. They told me that the General (their 
father) was with them. Each person was then touched, 
more or less gently, with the cherry-tree branches, and Mrs. 
Guppy wanted some one to wish for sea-weed. We all 
smelled perfumed water, and I felt the soft fingers bathing 
my upper lip and nostrils with it. ' Light ' was spelt out, 
and on the table was a scallop shell filled with sea water, to 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 97 

which perfume had been added, but the flavour of the sea 
water was unmistakable. 

" Mr. Volckman then had to leave in order to catch his 
train ; when the door was again locked, and shortly after 
his departure, Mr. H. began to make convulsive starts, with 
exclamations of, ' Don't, don't ! No, that's too much ! ' and 
we all wanted to know what was the matter. ' Oh ! it's a 
pin!' he jerked out; and then the back of my hand was 
gently pressed with the point of a pin, so as to give me sen- 
sational information, and I asked the invisibles to do the 
same to Mrs. Petman and Mr. Dodd, which they did, but 
again the attack was renewed upon the sceptical Mr. H., who 
declared that the pin was being continually driven into him 
for about an inch. At last he sprang up, exclaiming, ' Oh ! 
I have got him ! a light, quickly ! ' ' Hold fast ! ' said Mrs. 
Guppy, 'and do make haste with the light !' But the first 
match missed, and Mr. H. was still struggling violently 
with the being he had caught, but when the candle was at 
length lighted there was no one in the corner, where Mr. H. 
in his impetuous rush had fallen on to the ottoman ; but 
he declared that he had had his arms round some one who 
seemed as large as himself (and he is both tall and stout), 
and that he had seen something by the faint light of the 
match that had missed. I think he had felt sure that he 
had caught hold of a mortal who was playing a practical joke 
upon him, and therefore held him as firmly as he could, for 
he was quite panting and breathless with the exertion. Mrs. 
Guppy was vexed that he had not retained his grasp of the 
spirit, but that, alas ! had melted from his hold, without 
leaving anything for us to see, notwithstanding which it 
was a very exciting incident, and after we had calmed down, 
Katie's voice made me the request I have mentioned, and 
'Good night;' was rapped out. I had the pleasure of 
meeting Mrs. Guppy two evenings later at a friend's house, 
and was glad to find she had not suffered by the spirit's 
having been so roughly handled, and we again had a very 
good se'ance." 

I made one of my most valued friendships during the 



I98 EVENINGS AT HOME 

hiatus between Mr. Hudson's two studios, for, at a seance 
at Mr. Williams's, the spirit photographs came under dis- 
cussion, and some who until then were strangers to that 
class of phenomena were desirous of obtaining specimens, 
which Mr. Hudson had not then the means of printing, so 
Sir Charles Isham, who was present, gave my address, saying 
that doubtless I might still have some on hand, and the 
28th of May brought me a new visitor with whom I had 
a long and interesting conversation, touching on almost 
everything connected with Spiritualism and its teachings. 

On the 2nd of July I paid my first visit to Mr. Hudson 
at Notting Hill, so as to have the pleasure of congratu- 
lating him, as well as seeing and hearing all the arrange- 
ments he was planning, for he had only just got in, and 
everything was in disarray. We both looked forward to 
better times being at hand, but as yet there could be no 
photography, and I did not commence my regular Thursdays 
until that day fortnight; but he had lost his haunted house, 
and there was not the smallest atom of spirit essence in the 
walls or belongings, so that it was some time before any 
sitters could obtain manifestations, all his outflow being 
absorbed into the deadly coldness of the building. I did 
not attempt to have any sittings, for in truth I had not the 
wherewithal to meet the expense, and I am sorry to say 
that I had but one professional sitter ere that year closed 
in ; neither did Mr. Hudson have many sitters, although it 
had seemed probable that the extreme facility of access to 
his new place would have been in his favour. He was also 
disappointed in his hope that secular photography might 
here come to him in good proportion, but alas ! Kensington 
Park Road was a side-street, and passers-by were scarce, so 
that scarcely anything came to him in liquidation of the 
good-will he had paid for, and from the negatives left with 
him by his predecessor, I think he had but one single demand, 
that of a boy who had since died. I cannot accuse him of 
any error in judgment in thus having been misled, because 
he had to take what he could get with the very limited 
means at his disposal, and his chief hopes were from the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 1 99 

Spiritualists themselves, stimulated now and then by some 
decided photographic success ; as for example, when he had 
been there a couple of months the brothers Lamont with a 
couple of their Liverpool friends came, and the spirit face 
is as clear and substantial as any of their own, and he 
naturally concluded that all Spiritualists from the country 
would be sure to wend their way to him as soon as they 
reached London, let them be coming for ever so short a 
visit. My own first sitting with him was on the 7th of 
January, 1875, an d was a grand success. 

In September, Mr. and Mrs. Guppy, with their two 
children, went over to Ireland, and a month later he sent me 
a most admirable photograph taken in Dublin of himself 
and his wife, in which he looks as full of power and vigour 
as if he were at least ten years younger, and that is my 
last memento of him, for his death took place calmly and 
quietly in his sleep on the 18th of January, while they were 
staying in the neighbourhood of Cork, at Dr. Barter's hydro- 
pathic establishment. It came upon her quite as an unex- 
pected blow, for he had seemed as if he might have had 
many more years of life. She came back to England as 
speedily as she could, and remained for some little time in 
apartments at Knightsbridge, where I went at once to 
see her. The term for which they had let the house at 
Highbury was still unexpired ; but she resolved upon not 
returning to it, and eventually took a house in Victoria 
Road, Kensington, where she was more within the reach 
of her numerous friends. 

Wonderful are the various phases of spirit power, and I 
am here going to narrate one of our Friday seances, which 
I was told to defer until now, although it took place in 1870. 
When Mrs. T. came in, on the 8th of April, she men- 
tioned that a well-known friend of hers (in Massachusetts) 
had recently passed away, and that she had been a good 
deal engaged in writing on the subject to other friends. — 
After I had mesmerised her for some time, she saw a purple 
light, and presently she exclaimed : " Oh ! I do think this 
is Mrs. D , dear me ! — It was only a glimpse ; she 



200 EVENINGS AT HOME 

seemed to pass just before me. She looked exactly as she 
used to look except that she stooped a little. — I see the 
main street at Hope Dale, — just as it used to look, — from 
top to bottom. I see a face I know so well, and yet for 
the life of me I can't remember the name. . . Oh ! it is 
Edmund Soward ; I think he is in the spirit world, — I am 
sure he is; — he died of consumption about fifteen years 
ago. Oh ! yes : he had on something like a cloak, which 
he has taken off to show me his jacket of green baize. He 
used to be called the walking cyclopedia, because he knew 
something of everything. — He was a great friend of Mr. and 

Mrs. D ; he always dined there when they had friends 

who had need of intelligent conversation. He is going down 
the street from the school-house, and I am going with him. 
— I am passing some houses that I don't remember, where 
there used to be flowers and some nursery trees, — and the 
houses need painting very much. We go straight past where 

Mrs. D lived ; straight down, till we come to a house 

with a large running piazza. — I see ! — there is a circle, a 
spirit circle; I see the people sitting in front, I see four 
people whom I know sitting in this circle, and there are 
several others who are strange." [Can you mention the 

names of those whom you know?] "Mr. Eben D , 

Mrs. George D , Mr. B , and a little girl called Mary, 

who is grown very tall, and many others : there are two 
coloured people. — I have lost my spirit guide : — we came in 
through the window, which opens like a French window.'' 
[Perhaps there is something special that you are to note.] 
"One of the ladies whom I don't know is gesticulating very 
much ; she seems to be making a speech. There is some 
person in the circle from whom I feel such a pleasant influ- 
ence. One of those black women is saying that she sees 
me. — It is old Aunt Johnson 1 so it isl Old Auntie Johnson! 
and she has got so much older. She sees me, and she 
thinks I am a spirit. They are standing up and pointing, and 
she is pointing; — and it seems to make me so much smaller 
somehow; I feel as if I must hide. — I am going into the 
corner of the room, close to a musical instrument, and it is 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 201 

open : I think it is a melodion j and there are so many 
keys, two or three ranks of keys. — I have got out of the 
room somehow into the garden, close to a rose-bush. I 
think old Auntie Johnson frightened me away ; she wanted 
me to come close to her : she is calling to me : she says, 
1 Tell me about my boy Jem.' — Oh ! she thinks I am a 
spirit. Poor little Jemmy was drowned a long time ago, 
and I don't see him anywhere. ... I am going right up, — 
above the house." Here she awoke with a start, and she 
told me she was feeling frightened lest she should fall, and 
she reasoned with herself that it was only a dream, but the 
fear roused her, and the experience was curious and quite 
new to her. 



202 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER XIV. 

On the 21st of March 1875, I was agreeably surprised by a 
visit from my old friend whom I had known as Mr. Joseph 
Maurice, during the time of the enquiry into Spiritualism 
of the Dialectical Society, but who had now resumed his 
name in the original form, as Maurice Joseph, by which 
latter surname I shall henceforward mention him. I was 
shocked to see what a wreck he had become of his former 
self, but he had been suffering from various ailments, among 
them paralysis ; and his nerves were still so unstrung that he 
could speak but few words and in a low tone, and even 
thus could talk but little at a time. By gradual degrees, he 
told me that he had been deeply under spiritual influences, 
and that his sufferings at times had been very intense, 
partly physical, but partly spiritually induced, and it is even 
possible that the paralysis itself may have been the work of 
malignant influences, such as might have been the case but 
for Mrs. T.'s timely warning, with another friend of mine, as 
I have narrated towards the close of the previous volume ; 
and who may say how frequently such may be the primary 
cause of long and painful illnesses among those who believe 
not in the inter-communion between the two worlds, but 
who are none the less operated upon from the other side ? 
Also, it is possible that if awakened to the truth, they might 
receive relief, even in the same way, from the invisible side. 
It appeared to me as if he had been, as it were, a kind 
of battle-field for antagonistic influences, and he now came 
to me on a mission from very decidedly the wrong source, 
for it was with an entreaty that / should altogether give up 
spirit communion, which he was to urge upon me to the 
utmost. Of course, even such a step was only per??iitted 
by the higher influences in the certain knowledge that far 
from changing my life, it would lead to his own strengthen- 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 203 

ing in his mediumship, as indeed was at once proved even 
on that very first day; after which he came to me with 
tolerable frequency, gathering both physical and mental 
strength by each visit. Many people say, — Oh ! the spirits 
who come to people teach always the religious dogmas of 
the medium him or her-self, whatsoever may be their creed 
either of belief or unbelief. — His was most undoubtedly 
an evidence of a very contrary character. Be it remem- 
bered that he was a Jew : — he had been developed into 
trance mediumship long before this illness commenced ; 
and even in the earlier days he told me, that to his rather 
horror, once on awaking from one of those trances, he 
found himself praying to the Virgin Mary ! nothing could 
possibly be farther from his own religious views ! and I 
consider that even that one circumstance is sufficient to 
topple down the theory as a dogmatic fact, although I do 
grant that the spirits that surround a person are likely to 
be those whose views are in harmonious accord, but they 
may nevertheless become gradually remodelled either for 
better or for worse according to the influences to which 
they may yield themselves whether for higher or lower 
instruction, and we also know that the thirst for conversion 
is as strong among some of the dwellers on the other side, 
as it had been with them before quitting this earth. 

In his case, the struggle was very much upwards, but 
his was a peculiar mission, therefore it was fought against 
with such deadly virulence by the evil angels. He had 
had wondrous visions of which he had in those days kept 
full records, but in one of the dark moments he had been 
induced to burn the manuscripts. (Like Emanuel Marshall 
with his pictures, and other instances that I have known.) 
He was not a student of Scripture, and therefore could not 
realize the special grandeur of some of his own visions, 
which in his many visits he would relate very fully to me, 
and I could frequently shew him in the Bible the full 
meaning and interpretation of what he had passed through. 
I wish I had had some of those destroyed records, for the 
visions, with the light thus thrown upon them, were of 



204 EVENINGS AT HOME 

deep interest; but it would have been too much for me to 
attempt to write down any of them after he had left me, 
for my own life's work has always been too close for me to 
have had such time to spare. . . . The truth was that all 
unknowingly he was being led up to Christianity. Even 
on his first visit he told me in how many things he had 
already made a change : for instance, instead of standing, 
according to the custom of his nation, he would kneel to 
pray. . . and the words he employed were those of The 
Lord's Prayer, retiring to his own room three times a day 
for that purpose. A large proportion of his visional teach- 
ing, was to shew (which comes to me to and through so 
very many sources) the rapid approach of some great 
change taking place in the spirit world, and the intense 
effort being made to raise the unfortunate ones in the 
lower spheres — and also that the antagonism between good 
and evil is stronger than has ever hitherto been the case, 
consequently the conflict between the two powers becomes 
more and more fierce. Do we not see it even here on 
earth? — look at drunkenness, what a fearful scourge it is ! — 
and see the mighty efforts being made in all the land to 
contend with and utterly subdue it : efforts chiefly made 
with religious fervour, seeking help from The Lord, and 
how wonderful in the last year or two has been the realized 
improvement. In Mr. Joseph's own seekings after higher 
light, I never attempted in any way to lead or to bias him ; 
I simply answered any questionings he might put to me, 
of course according to my own views, but I was always 
tenderly careful to say no word that should even hint at 
controversy. His nation had received the truth in the 
earlier ages, and to them we are indebted for our own 
Scripture evidences as far as they went ; and a portion, too, 
of that same nation gave us the written records of the 
New Testament, but — could they all have received that 
fresh revelation, the olden prophecies would have been 
falsified — therefore we are their debtors both for what they 
did believe, and for what they did not. As a nation I 
honour and esteem them highly, as well as being firmly 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 205 

convinced of their close kinship, and that we, sturdy 
Britons, are likewise lineally descended from Jacob — of the 
tribe of Joseph — of the tribe of Ephraim. My faith is cen- 
tred in The Lord, and I can trust all whom I love or care 
for in His Hands, secure that in His good time they shall 
be led into the fulness of truth ; therefore it is that I am 
not given to proselytising, either into Christianity or into 
Spiritualism, although I am ready and willing enough to 
speak whenever the words may be called for. I have been 
asked — Oh ! do talk to so-and-so about Spiritualism. — No : 
let them seek from me, and I will tell with open heart, but 
were I to speak at the wrong moment, I might do more 
harm than good. I was once enquired of by a dear but 
sceptical friend, as to whether I looked upon the refusal of 
these new truths as a sin, therefore I sought for advice how 
to answer her judiciously; — and the written message was 
— " In Our Lord's time there were many of the Jewish 
nation who could not accept Him as the Messiah. Therein 
were they guiltless while they persecuted Him not either 
by word or deed. It was the active antagonism that formed 
the sin to be visited upon themselves and their children, 
even according to their own cry. So now, in these latter 
days, there are some who walk blindly on, unheeding the 
wonders vouchsafed : — for their blindness they may be 
pitied, nor will sin therein be imputed to them unless by 
scornful word or bitter action they may wound those who 
are God's appointed agents in disseminating the fresh 
truths He is now shedding forth." Although I have 
applied the word sceptical to my friend, I must do her the 
justice to say that she knows but very little on the subject, 
for she dwells at the antipodes, and during her visit to 
England was only twice able to spend a few short hours 
here, when we had many other things to talk about, so that 
Spiritualism could have but a small share of our time. 

The awakening that God is now giving to our senses, is 
to teach us of the influences that have ever been around 
the path of humanity, whether acknowledged or otherwise, 
while at the same time we receive the unmistakable evi- 



206 EVENINGS AT HOME 

dences that the possessions spoken of in the Gospels were 
literal facts, however much the intellectual world may 
desire to class them under medical terms of disease, such 
as epilepsy, &c. ; — and perhaps even in these days, their 
so-called epilepsy might be driven out by angelic ministry. 
In the Chronicles of Spirit Photography, I have given 
copious extracts from the letters of Mrs. P., a lady who had 
suffered in many ways from the malignity of untoward and 
low-class spirits. She had obtained much relief through the 
photographs I sent her, because the portrait, thus filled 
with their own emanations, became a link whereby she 
could implore the spirits' presence and aid when her tor- 
mentors became absolutely unbearable. I have saved one 
of her communications for this volume, and will here 
transcribe it, premising that I had sent to her (by direction) 
some frankincense (gum olibanum), for her to burn in case 
of any strong emergency, so as to " purify by fire," as I had 
been instructed to do at Mr. Hudson's when untoward 
influences had clung to the studio in consequence of the 
mixture of visitors. 

" September 2$th, 1874. — My dear Miss Houghton, — 
Again, thank God ! having returned home, I am able to 
write to you, and to return you thanks for all your kindness, 
and for your last most thoughtful present of the frankin- 
cense which proved most useful to me. How well the dear 
kind spirits who favour you with their presence understand 
my position and the class of some of the spirits that haunt 
me. How happy you are with such friends, not, thank 
God, that I am friendless, for I have, and always have had, 
powerful spirit friends ; indeed, were it not so, I do not 
know what would have become of me. I assure you I 
have often been snatched from the hands of spirits who I 
am quite sure would have caused my death. If you were 
to read my spiritual diary you would see that such has been 
the case, and at one time I was actually afraid to have the 
power of leaving my room, so awful was the temptation to 
suicide. On one night in particular I was nearly wild with 
terror ; I never ceased praying to God, although I was so 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 20 7 

exhausted that all I could say was — * Oh ! God save me ! ' 
and a sneering spirit man kept continually whispering, 
* Ah ! you will find your prayers are of no use ; you'll find 
that the evil spirit who is beside you is stronger than the 
God who is far off.' — I then fell into a magnetic doze, and 
I saw a dearly loved spirit-uncle (who was as a father to 
me, my own father having died while I was an infant) 
approach me and take my hand, speaking kind and encour- 
aging words, and assuring me of safety and protection. 
The wretched wicked spirit fled, and I never again was so 
awfully beset. But nothing can be clearer than the protec- 
tion St. Stephen affords me by means of the photograph." 
Here follows her account of her burning the frankincense, 
which I have narrated elsewhere. . . . " A lady, a Spiri- 
tualist friend of mine, has told me that the house I have 
been staying in, had been, prior to my relatives living in 
it, inhabited by a very dissolute man, and that he and 
his two mistresses (or as they call them, his wives) are 
the spirits who haunt it. I used every night to be awakened 
in terror conscious of an evil presence, and then I would 
always see some one at the bedside, either leaning over me 
with outstretched hand, the fingers pointing to my forehead, 
or else some strange object more like a withered stick with 
a bunch of twigs at the end which would point at me in the 
same way. One night I saw a thing like a dark cloud at 
the further side from me about five feet high ; at the top 
was what I at last saw was something like a human head — 
the size was tremendous, and it was covered with dark 
brown fur, which hung before the lower part of it in jagged 
ends : there were two fiery bloodshot eyes also of tremen- 
dous size, which steadily glared at me ; the other features I 
could not distinguish. This thing remained quite still until 
I drove it back by adjuration and prayer ; but the injury to 
my health you could scarcely credit. Often have the voices 
said in cruel mockery : — ' We are vampyres, we live on 
your magnetism, and the cause of your ill health is mainly 
occasioned by us. 1 They used to say, while I was in town, 
to each other : ' Are you hungry ? ' — The other would 



208 EVENINGS AT HOME 

answer: 'Yes, I am ; I think I would like some,' then 
they would mention something that I could get ; and I 
assure you I would get ravenously hungry for the thing 
specified, nor could I rest till 1 got it. They would make me 
in this way eat or drink what they pleased : — was not this 
awful ? but never did they have any influence to cause me 
to take anything but what was suitable ; but so alarmed 
have I often felt, fearing they might make me do something 
contrary to my habits, that I used always to be in prayer to 
God for His divine protection. What a field for thought is 
thus opened up ! how awfully near is that world of temp- 
tation that Our Lord warned us against ! How much to be 
pitied are those who fall ! How various must be the 
causes of our falls ! What a light those things throw on the 
sudden acts, the crimes sometimes committed by persons 
who previous to this act had lived blameless lives ! " 

"April 21st, 1875. • • Be assured, dear Friend, that 
among the many who are indebted to your philanthropy, 
there can scarcely be one that needed your help more, or 
who is more grateful to you than I am. Even last night 
those precious spirit photographs were, as ever, a. source of 
peace and safety to me. In my spiritual diary I have 
noted down with ample details the several occasions on 
which they released me from the attacks of what in aspect 
and according to their own account were ' Fiends.' Last 
night I was told with bitter mockery by two of the ' voices,' 
that they it was who had prevented me from writing to you, 
and that it was they who had made me as ill as I have been 
and am. Also they added, 'Not to make such a fool of 
myself as to think they were unhappy spirits : that they were 
devils, and far from being unhappy that they were very jolly, 
and would rather be where they are, and where they enjoy 
their liberty, than imprisoned in Heaven where there is no 
amusement but flying about ; also that they are quite sure 
of having me . with them, and that their delight was in 
thinking how they would torture me for not always listening 
to them.' I drove them off in the name of God and Christ, 
and now they are vowing vengeance against me. I spoke 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 2 00 

to them about the ' pit/ the ' abyss,' the horror of darkness, 
in which the Bible tells us impenitent sinners are finally 
engulfed. They seemed affected for a moment, but after- 
wards they seemed as usual. 

" During the time I was unable to write to you, my two 
daughters were away from me ; the eldest being in very bad 
health, and the other went for a week to take care of her ; 
and I really think that but for the photographs and the 
frankincense I should have died one night ; and after 
that I was obliged to drag myself out a little every day. / 
felt the air thick with spirits : they were principally historical 
characters (English), about the time of the Tudors, and 
more especially James ist. The poor spirit who calls him- 
self ' The White Rose,' that Sir Andrew Melville talks of, 
has been about me from the first time my sight was opened. 
I could not rightly understand him, other spirits so often 
interrupted him, but I think it was he, who after escaping 
from the Tower, was retaken by the treachery of a woman, 
and something about an apparition. All these and many 
more pressed on me, actually stifling me night and day. 
At last I was seized with violent and continual retchings, 
which lasted until my younger daughter returned. We 
again sat at the table, and at once the retchings subsided ; 
but whenever we give up the sittings the sickness returns. 
I have an impression that this is caused by my guardian 
spirits, for my foes, the ' voices,' have always done their 
utmost to make me give up sitting in circle, as that brings 
me into relation with other spirits, and weakens their own 
influence, and I have been seized with such an unaccount- 
able disgust to Spiritualism that I dare say I would have 
desisted, and so have given them more power." 

On the 17th of May I wrote to her, enclosing the paint- 
ing-rag I had used while engaged upon a drawing of " The 
Eye of The Lord " which I had just completed, with direc- 
tions to use it for health purposes, by placing it upon the 
spot where she might at the time be suffering pain, specifying 
also how long it was to remain (I think only half an hour, 
but I am not sure, and only followed the directions given 

o 



210 EVENINGS AT HOME 

to me at the time by my teachers), and that it was after- 
wards immediately to be replaced in the envelope — also 
that it was not to be applied too frequently, so as always 
to come with fresh vigour. Her answer was : " My dear 
good Friend, — How can I thank God sufficiently for send- 
ing you to my help ? What a consolation it must be to you 
to think of the forlorn and bound creatures that you have 
relieved ! That piece of calico which you sent to me has 
relieved me more than once instantly by following your 
directions. Another thing is that your remarks about 
hostile spirits causing a feeling of dislike and repugnance 
to Spirit manifestations in order that they may retain the 
sufferer under their own control, has often been remarked 
by me. I always noticed that when my mediumship was 
low, I was ill, out of sorts, every way miserable ; I could 
not refrain from giving you this information, but I can 
write no more at present. May God's blessing be ever 
about you, you good woman, and believe me, even in your 
earthly life you will be blessed, for the blessings of those you 
have so disinterestedly helped will surround you like a halo 
of light. Believe me ever your faithful friend, E. P." 

My suffering friend (still personally unknown to me) was 
removed from this life some four or five months later, and 
her daughter adds : " Her end was so peaceable that we 
did not for some time perceive that she had passed away. 
I trust that we shall all terminate our pilgrimage here as 
happily as she did." She had frequently assured me that 
notwithstanding the persecutions she had undergone from 
those malignant ones, the higher spiritual communion was 
so transcendant a blessing that the trials were comparatively 
insignificant, so that on no account would she have been 
again shut up from it. I have often since been conscious 
of her presence with me, and she has her own signal whereby 
she makes it known. 

In one of our very far-back Friday seances, Mrs. T., 
after having been mesmerised, passed under influence, and 
said: — ''There is a spirit I do not quite like. He has 
followed me here, and he says I am to tell you that he 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 211 

came, so that I could see him, last night about twelve 
o'clock. He represents himself as a catholic priest : — he 
is shewing me the back of his head, which is quite shaved 
at the crown : he has black hair, which is combed forwards ; 
a long flannel dress tied at the waist with a black ribbon ; 
last night his dress was black." [Perhaps he wants help 
from us.] " He means to make converts. His face is not 
at all nice. He can't get very near us ; there is a crimson 
light, and he cannot get past that : — he reaches his arms 
over, but it is of no use. He says he got nearer to me 
yesterday. He has a book in his hand ; it has a cross on 
the cover. His face is covered with wrinkles, and has quite 
a yellow cast ; if it had but a little more wickedness in it, it 
would be something quite frightful. He says he is appointed 
to go to Australia with that young man I told you about, 
and that we have no power to prevent him. He will do 
his best to convert him to his own faith. He says he 
comes to tell us because he thinks it right to acquaint us 
with his intentions, which he considers judicious, and for 
the good of the young man, whose mind cannot be led 
right without high authority such as is only found in the 
mother church. He says if he did not take him in hand, 
he would be open to undeveloped spirits who would control 
him, and affect his mind again." [You are now uttering 
things that you know to be false, and striving, in Jesuit-like 
spirit, to give them a favourable colouring. The young man 
will be granted better guides than you are.] " He says he 
needs co?itrol, authority. — He has lifted his hand, and says — 
You see I can control your friends." [Here I was spoken 
through quite strongly to the effect that he knew it was 
only by permission, for some especial reason that he was 
allowed to come, and that he was a. false, lying spirit.] " His 
face has turned quite black, Oh ! Oh !" (Shuddering.) 

" Some odours are being brought. The spirit whose 
control I generally feel, tells me I am not to fear that such 
a spirit will be allowed to control me when I am alone, 
because there is a line which he cannot cross." On return- 
ing to the normal condition, she still seemed uncomfortable, 



212 EVENINGS AT HOME 

and said, " I feel so shaken." I mesmerised her for a short 
time, when she quite rallied, and passed again under influ- 
ence. " I am in a cloud. — Why, there is Grandmamma ! 
I thought I saw her face just before. Can you see Miss 
Houghton, Grandmamma? — She says, Yes. — I do not 
come often, but I am come now because you appeared in 
trouble. — She is shewing me her hair: it is like it used to 
be, as I remember it ; I had forgotten it was cut off a little 
behind in the neck, and she 'is shewing me the place; I 
had quite forgotten it. . . . Here is the spirit who has a 
special interest in our seances." [Oh ! can you help that 
poor young man, so as to prevent him from being influenced 
by that Jesuit priest? you, as having been perverted to 
Catholicism, and then brought Home again, may have more 
influence over him than others.] " He was not permitted 
to come near you, and the same power will guard the one 
whom he is seeking to win. There is a Will stronger than his 
will. It is foreseen that the priest will have no power while 
the youth keeps his reason. He cannot unaided reach his 
mind with his religious views : that is his only aim, to pro- 
selytise, though why he should have made known his mission 
I cannot tell, without he was compelled to do so by some 
power stronger than his own. What is called insanity is 
frequently only another name for obsession, and such spirits 
as that one, are sometimes strong enough to overturn the 
undefended reason." [Was it he who influenced you?] 
"It was in his likeness. Oh! Oh! Oh! — I could have 
resisted the power at first if I had sought help, and had 
believed it was evil, but I was self-willed, and it grew too 
strong for me ; it took my reason. A circle should be always 
conducted in such a spirit that it may be impossible for 
any of those to enter who go up and down seeking whom 
they may devour. Part of my work now is to help poor 
mortals to resist their influences, and when my strength is 
insufficient, more is given to me." [It must be consolatory 
work for you, dear.] "Sad, sad, but it is useful work." 
The remainder of the seance diverged to other points, and 
has already been recorded. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 2 1 3 

. In Human Nature for August 1870 is a long article bear- 
ing upon the same subject ; written by J. H. Hall, giving 
an account of strong physical manifestations, which I will 
curtail wherever I can. . . " I went at once to the house, 
No. 972, 6th Avenue, New York, and found out from the 
family the following particulars. ... It consisted of a girl 
(medium), eleven years old, an uncle, also an uncle just 
deceased, and two aunts. They appeared to be people in 
middle circumstances, catholic persuasion, with strong pre- 
judices. They were ordinarily intelligent, but the girl was 
unschooled. I happened to get there just after the spirits 
had made a raid. . . . Entering the parlour, the various 
pictures from the walls were strewn about, except the catholic 
pictures, which were not touched. Behind the sofa, and 
under it where one could not go without lifting the sofa 
out, lay every movable thing in the house, not very heavy, 
as nicely and in regular order as could be; then in the 
pantry lay upon the floor perhaps 20 dols. worth of china, 
plates, tureens, dishes, all emptied out of the cupboard at 
one time, in a heap, and smashing nearly every one of 
them. A large fine looking-glass broken all to pieces ; a 
sewing machine, thrown over, lay on the floor broken; a 
large bell in the hall, which had been rung furiously. In 
the bedrooms, articles were found stowed away between mat- 
tresses, and the uncle said he had had 4 dols. taken away 
from him. These people are strong catholics and unfriendly 
to Spiritualism. The rappings began at the door and in the 
house before the old man died, but nothing so terrible as 
the above. They could not punish the girl for it, because 
it occurred in broad daylight, when the girl was not near 
the places where the destruction was going on. A spirit 
seized the girl's hand one time and hurled something 
at an aunt, for which she was whipped ; she seemed to 
love her aunt, and is said to be affectionate and kind. 
When the girl was sent away the manifestations were less 
violent. . . . Various were the surmises. . . . We convened 
a circle on going home (Mrs. Marquand was the medium), 
and to our mental enquiry 'What does this mean?' 



2 14 EVENINGS AT HOME 

we received a written communication in the following 
words : — 

' The end justifies the means.' 

" The remark made by the lady was not a foolish one 
about the catholic pictures, they remained while the others 
were taken down.* There is a battle going on at all times 
with catholic spirits against liberal religion, and there is a 
force of two kinds of spirits to gain possession of that child 
where you have been ; the catholics have so far had the 
sway. A host of catholic spirits were around the man that 
died in that house, and the doctor brings his, used as a force, 
also in that direction. There are no spirits here who 
desire to injure any one, but they have a wonderful power 
through the force in that house, so many mediumistic com- 
binations; they will leave no means untried to get that 
child into their power, so they are taking this course in 
order to frighten the relations and to get them to place the 
child in a convent for safety ; then they have all they want, 
and then they will wield the child, after they have got her, 
with her powers, to accomplish their own purposes. Other 
spirits have also been there, but as soon as these catholics 
see and realize the approach of other spirits that they know 
are as yet not strong, they overpower them, and the result 
is these terrible physical manifestations. The uncle that 
has passed away had more to do with it than they 
know, but not consciously; that will soon be proved. 
They cannot approach very readily when those present 
are well balanced in their spiritual and temporal organisa- 
tions, but as soon as they are those whom they can 
overcome, whose organisms can be controlled or laid by, 
they shew their power. Two young priests (spirits) to- 
gether with an old cardinal have been around and amongst 
them many days. They care not what is done so they drive 
them to do what they want, and then feel that a mighty lift 

* I remarked to the catholic lady who had said " It was evil spirits," 
because the catholic pictures were not molested hanging upon the walls, 
"Madam, that is a foolish remark, they could take any pictures down." 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 215 

or power. They are doing or shewing their powers as 
spirits, and it is only on account of the trouble they make 
that there need be any sorrow. Let them work, let all the 
spirits work in all the ways they can. The greatest spiritual 
battle ever fought on earth will take place between catholic 
and liberal Christians. They watched you out of the house, 
and stood by you when you picked up the glass off the floor. 
The child is a powerful physical medium, and when brought 
under schooling, in herself, and the spirits that use her are 
of a more liberal and loving kind, these manifestations will 
change. Take a few select individuals who have faith in 
physical manifestations, and hold a circle up there, several 
physical mediums, men and women, a select few, and you 
will have some tremendous manifestations, unless these 
catholic spirits withdraw, and then they will not be so 
violent. It is an effort for catholic supremacy." /wru^^v^c / 



1 6 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER XV. 

A friend came to see me on Whitsunday, May 16th, 1875. 
She was suffering terribly from toothache, and lay down on 
the sofa. In the hope of giving her some relief I mesmerised 
her for some time, and although her eyes gently closed, I 
was not sure that she had lost consciousness, until I saw her 
move her right hand upwards in rather an emphatic manner, 
when it struck me that it might be the first manifestation 
of her development as a trance medium. I waited patiently 
for permission to address her, and then asked in a low voice 
what she saw. The sentences seemed to come by fragments, 
with little spells of silence between. "Oh ! it is beautiful ! . . . 
so beautiful ! ... all glory and light ... so beautiful ! " 
[Do you see any one?] "The light is round her" (then, 
as if whispering to some one), " shall I tell her ? shall I tell 
her what I see 1 — I see them coming ... so many people 
. . . they are bringing leaves . . . oh ! there is a ship ! . . . 
Oh ! how beautiful, and there are such sweet faces." [Any 
that you recognise ? ] " No, I do not know them." [Per- 
haps there are some who know you.] Here she extended 
her arms yearningly as if to embrace some one, while her 
countenance assumed a very restful expression; then letting 
her arms drop, she said, " Now they are all gone." . . . She 
then took my face between her hands, fondly stroking it, 
and said — " Fear not, fear not, all will be well — all is well. 
Little mother ! " (her pet name for me), "little mother, the 
light is all round you, you are in the light." [What colour 
is the light ?] " It is white, but there are lovely rays from 
it, bluish rays and golden ones ; so bright : — and they are 
giving you a book." [What is the book?] Looking atten- 
tively, as if reading, — "From Helen." [Is the other name 
there ?] " Helen, it is only Helen . . . Now there is the 
ship again." [Who is in the ship?] "People: the ship 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 217 

will come safely into port ; Helen is there." [Dear Aunt 
Helen!] "Yes— she smiles so sweetly: she has such a 
sweet face." Here she rose from a recumbent to a sitting 
posture, and was silent for some time : then, taking each of 
my hands firmly in hers : " Your faith is sufficient : — your 
strength shall be great : — your health shall be good ": — all 
your needs shall be supplied ; fully supplied ; — as you need. 
Oh ! there are mountains, such beautiful mountains — in the 
North, and there are so many people, and they want you 
to go." [What do they want me for ?] Whisperingly, " They 
want her to teach them : " then aloud, "You must not go, 
you must stop here ; you must finish what you are about ; 
you must finish that picture; you will sell it." . . . [Can 
you tell me about those leaves that you saw them bringing ?] 
"Wait a minute ... oh ! I see, they are palm leaves, and 
they are bringing them to you : — and flowers, oh ! what 
flower is that? it is not clematis — oh! jessamine;* yes, 
jessamine : they are putting them on you — it means purity : 
they are covering you all over with them — in the bright 
light : — they are like a mantle . . . Oh ! there is a young 
girl behind you : she is tall and very fair ; now she bends 
over you very lovingly." (Being fair, it could not be my 
dark-eyed Zilla.) [Is it Motee?] " Oh ! yes : she has been 
wanting that. She has her hand on your shoulder." [Is 
the General with her 1] "No." [Jim?] "No. There is 
a little girl with her ; she pats her on the head, and now she 
sends her away. Now she is fanning you, and it is so 
pleasant, I feel the warm breeze. . . . Oh ! now I see some 
children at play : there is a little boy with a hoop." [Has 
he anything on his head ?] " Yes, a flower ; it is like a 
lily ; it is a crown of lilies : oh ! they are playing, and they 
seem so merry : — -dear little things, they are so happy. . . . 
Now there are people coming again — and they are bringing 
you things — and they are pouring money into your lap." 
She,was silent for some little time, and then I was impressed 
to mesmerise her slightly, when she opened her eyes, saying, 

* This charmed me very much, for jessamine is a perfect passion 
with me : I always long for it wherever I may see it. 



2l8 EVENINGS AT HOME 

" How dark it is," for the daylight had faded away during 
her trance, and she was much surprised when I related to 
her all that she had been saying. She was also much pleased 
that she had passed both into and out of the trance without 
any kind of twitchings or convulsions. 

I wonder whether the Book thus spiritually given to me 
by Aunt Helen might be the premonition of this very one 
I am now writing ! 

I must not forget that one of the efforts made to raise 
funds for our Association was a Fancy Bazaar, held in the 
Co-operative Institute, Castle Street, Oxford Street, on the 
26th, 27th, and 28th of May, and had, I believe, a very fair 
success. The General Annual Meeting was held there on 
the first evening of the three, and was very well attended. 

I had been at Mrs. Guppy's on the previous evening for 
her first seance in her pretty little house at Kensington, but, 
I am sorry to say, I made no notes. 

Soon after this, Mrs. Hardy came for her first visit to 
England, and I had heard her so highly spoken of by Miss 
Ingram and others, that I was glad to have several op- 
portunities of meeting her : — first, at a reception at Mrs. 
T.'s : then at Mrs. Guppy's on the 13th of July for a 
seance, when her table with the hinged lid was especially 
suitable for Mrs. Hardy's class of manifestation. We sat in 
a tolerably good light : the little flap was pushed up so as 
to lie flat on the table, and we were told to lay a cambric 
handkerchief over the opening, thus making the needful 
dark chamber below, and in a short time we saw the hand- 
kerchief pushed up by fingers ; after which it was grasped 
by the fingers and drawn away, to be presently tossed out 
through the same aperture. The lid still remained open, 
and white lilies in abundance were then handed through it 
to us, allowing us to have a glimpse of the white fingers that 
held them, and from which we abstracted them. I wish I 
could have remembered more of the details, for it was 
altogether an interesting se'ance. Mrs. Guppy had engaged 
Mrs. Hardy for every free evening that she had left (for 
her stay in England was but short, and she was in great 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 219 

demand), and she shewed me her list, for me to select the 
one that would suit me best to go again, and we fixed the 
28th inst. 

In the interval I went with a friend for a private seance, 
and Mrs. Hardy was soon entranced, and spoken through 
by the spirit Willie (I believe a little Indian). The sitting 
was my friend's, but I had bits here and there, between 
the answering of her questions. The name " Arthur " was 
mentioned with reference to something, which reminded 
me to ask Willie whether he had noticed the picture of my 
Arthur on Sunday when Mrs. Hardy had called upon me, 
and had been wonderfully struck with what she termed that 
beautiful and good face. " Oh ! yes, I saw his photograph 
then, but since that I have seen himself. I went away 
to Java, to Batavia, to see him. 1 went with his father, who 
took me to the right place ; and he is so good, real good in 
every way, he has no tricks." [He is like his father, is he 
not ?] "Yes, something; but much better — nicer — every- 
thing. . . . Oh ! there is a spirit belonging to you. He is 
William, he is very close to you. . . Your Mamma is here 
. . . she says she does not want to die." [But she is there, 
on the other side.] " Oh ! yes, but she says she does not 
want to die again. She says some of them told her she 
must be re-carnated ; but that is all trash, dreadful trash, 
you must not believe any one who tells you such trash." . . 
In which I thoroughly agreed. Then something was said 
about my home. [But can I keep it ?] " You must keep it ; 
you must not leave it to be wandering about the world like 
a poor little pussy cat." [But shall I have anything to keep 
it with ?] " Yes, it will come ; you will soon have a 
cheque." (Which really did unexpectedly come, even be- 
fore I copied the messages into my book.) Again turning 
to me. " Oh ! have the spirits told you that you are to go 
about more? you have been still and quiet for a long 
time, but now you are to go out a little." [They have not 
told me so, but the fact seems to be so, for you see 
I am out to-day, and I have several engagements which 
I have been counselled to accept, and indeed have liked to 



2 20 EVENINGS AT HOME 

do so.] "Well, that is all right, and has its purpose." 
He finished by telling us, " Brighter days are in store for 
both of you." So that was a cheering termination. 

I also had the pleasure of meeting her at the house of 
dear Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall, when I think there was a 
circle of about sixteen, and the dark chamber was formed 
by leaving a vacancy of about four or five inches between 
the leaves of the large dining-table, and shawls, or some 
dark things, were covered over the crevice on each side, so 
as to make a sort of square hole in the centre ; the light 
in the room itself being rather subdued. I think Mrs. 
Hardy's invisible friends regulated the position of the 
sitters, at any rate I know that my seat was next to hers, 
and at that part of the table near where the opening was 
thus contrived. Some persons who understand nothing of 
the necessary laws for the formation of circles make an 
outcry at such regulation of the sitters : — but — if they are 
musicians they must know that it is necessary that an 
instrument to be played upon must be made with the notes 
in proper sequential order ; not placing F next to C, or 
in any other random fashion. Each individual in a circle 
is, as it were, a musical note, and must be harmoniously 
placed and attuned, for full melody to be produced. Such 
rule holds good all through creation, and if wantonly 
broken, discord must be the result. On this occasion the 
meeting was very concordant, and the sweet voice of 
Katharine Poyntz indulged us with sacred song, when we 
would see the white spirit fingers creep up just above the 
opening, and occasionally wave in rhythm to the notes we 
were listening to. — Messages also were rapped out ; and 
one gentleman felt a ring which had belonged to his mother 
taken from off his finger (he had been apprised that she was 
present), and shortly afterwards a hand quietly rose to our 
view with the ring on one of the fingers. I do not remem- 
ber the method by which the ring was restored to its 
owner, but I know that somehow he did have it back; 
nor do I recollect anything more about the seance itself, 
for such things slip away from us if we make no memo- 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 221 

randa, but it was a very pleasant evening with highly 
valued friends. 

Fortunately I wrote the account of my last seance with 
her, and sent it to the Spiritual Magazine, and now copy 
from its pages. 

Before giving the account of the seance held at Mrs. 
Guppy's on the 28th of July, I wish to state the particulars 
of a singular circumstance that took place earlier in the 
month. Mrs. Hardy, during her late visit to London, has 
been so fully engaged that she found it impossible to come 
on the Wednesday as she had wished, to see me and my 
many spiritual curiosities ; she therefore sent me a message 
by a friend, requesting admission on some other day. I 
wrote to suggest that as she would be at liberty on Sunday 
(July 1 8th), she should come to me quite early on that day; 
which she and Miss Fletcher accordingly did. We had a 
very pleasant chat while I shewed her some of my spirit- 
drawings and other objects of interest, but she several 
times mentioned how very strongly she felt the spiritual 
influences in the room. At last she exclaimed, " Oh ! I 
never did feel anything like this ! it seems as if everything 
in the room was being moved about by spirits." Soon 
after that they took their leave, and I began to put away 
my things, when, glancing at the mantel-piece, I missed 
from it a small china vase, and a little Madeira curiosity — 
the half of an orange-peel, painted yellow inside, and 
crimson, with yellow flowers, on the outside. They were 
both very valuable to me, as having been gifts from dear 
friends, so I at once wrote a note to Mrs. Guppy, that in 
case they should be brought to any one at a seance, she 
should know whose they were. 

Well, it seems that on that very morning, while Mrs. 
Guppy (who wears herself out in the service of her friends, 
and in the cause of Spiritualism) was endeavouring to 
recruit her strength by a little extra repose, she felt the 
touch of small cold things, so she pushed them farther 
from her in the bed, but when she got up they had 
vanished, and were not to be found. My letter on the 



2 22 EVENINGS AT HOME 

Monday morning explained to her what they had been. 
On that same evening she held a seance with Mrs. Hardy, 
as medium in conjunction with herself, and during the 
course of it, my little treasures were placed in the hands of 
two of the sitters ; but our spirit friends had, with pencil, 
written a message for me inside the orange-peel, which 
will remain there as a testimony to the character of those 
invisible ones, who manifest these wonders through Mrs. 
Guppy's mediumship — " Excuse us, we only borrowed 
them, we never steal." My little ornaments are now back 
in their own places. 

Mrs. Guppy has been indulging her friends by engaging 
Mrs. Hardy for a series of seances, and has thus given them 
the opportunity of witnessing the marvels resulting from the 
combination of two such powerful mediumships. Her invi- 
tations have been eagerly sought for, and most liberally 
granted, and on the 28th of July the assembly was unusually 
large, for we numbered about forty persons, among whom 
were some very distinguished guests, so instead of adjourning 
upstairs into her seance room, we remained in the drawing 
rooms, of which the windows had been properly darkened. 
Some of your readers may not be aware, that in her seance 
table Mrs. Guppy has had a circular hole cut, of about 
nine or ten inches in diameter, the piece being again replaced 
with a hinge, so that it lifts up like a lid. Mrs. Hardy 
arranged the sitters, selecting those who were to be at the 
table, while the others formed an outer circle. She placed 
Mrs. Guppy on her left, and me by the side of Mrs. Guppy, 
so that we three were just in front of the lid. 

There was a dark seance, when a few flowers and some 
large branches of lilac and other shrubs were brought ; then 
the wax candle was lighted, and over the opened lid was 
arranged a piece of black calico in which a slit had been 
cut, thus forming a sort of dark cabinet under the table, and 
the candle was taken into the back room, so as to throw 
but a very subdued light into the one in which we were. 
Presently we saw one finger of a hand gleaming up at the 
aperture, then all the fingers, when each person in rotation 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 223 

asked, " Is it for me ? " they moved once for No, and at a 
third or fourth the answer was Yes, by a threefold movement ; 
the lady stretched forth her hand to touch that of the spirit, 
and there was thus a little interchange of question and 
answer. Other hands were afterwards seen, but they 
scarcely rose above the aperture of the table. Mrs. Guppy 
asked a gentleman for his silk handkerchief, in the corner 
of which she tied a knot, which she passed down to be 
taken hold of, and many of the sitters in succession held 
the upper part of the handkerchief, pulling against the 
Spirit-hand, and thus realizing its strength ; Mrs. Guppy 
asked leave to place her ring on one of the fingers, which 
being granted, she did so, and the finger was held up 
several times, shewing the ring upon it, and raps were made 
with the ring under the surface of the table. 

A small bell was held over the hole, and the white 
fingers were seen to clasp it, after which it was rung under 
the table ; a second bell was passed down with a similar 
result. Mrs. Guppy has a curious musical instrument called 
Turkish bells, formed of eight metal cups ranged one above 
the other for the octave, and very weighty. We held this 
with the handle downwards, and we saw it taken between 
two middle fingers of a hand, and thus carried down, and I 
do not think that any mortal fingers could have held the 
heavy instrument in that way. The upper part of it was 
then projected, and answers were given by rapping it 
against the hands of those who approached closely enough, 
and some of the blows were pretty strong, but they were 
discriminately given. Mrs. Ramsay then passed me her 
bracelet, and asked me to hold it at some distance above 
the hole, which I did at about five inches, and suddenly, 
almost like a lightning flash, the hand sprang up and seized 
it, and after a short time threw it out on the table. 

We were then desired to go and have tea, and on our 
return the table was moved out of the room, and a large 
circle formed, still with a second circle beyond, Mrs. Hardy 
being seated on a chair in the middle, and she requested a 
gentleman to place his feet one on each side of hers, to be 



2 24 EVENINGS AT HOME 

assured that she did not move from her place, and the light 
was then extinguished ; she then mentioned that during the 
seance she would continually strike one hand against the 
other, more for the purpose of stimulating the outflow of 
influence from herself by which the spirits work than as any 
kind of test, for any such test would be quite superfluous, 
as many persons in the circle were being touched at the 
same time by warm and firm spirit fingers. Mrs. Hardy 
(whose back was turned towards us) is occasionally clair- 
voyante, and said, " I see three young men, brothers." She 
partially described them, and the lady by my side whispered 
that they belonged to her ; and Mrs. Hardy continued, 
" They are for the lady on the right of Miss Houghton, and 
there is also a little girl." [Yes, quite right, also my child.] 
Then Mrs. Hardy said, "There is a spirit saying, 'I am 
Ferdinand.'" He was claimed by the gentleman who 
guarded her feet, and some messages were delivered from 
him. Suddenly she cried out, " Oh ! I am smothered ! 
strike a light quickly, Mr. Hardy, make haste." When he 
had done so, we found she was completely enveloped in a 
large table-cover. We disentangled her, and the light was 
again put out. One gentleman's chair was taken from him, 
and Mrs. Guppy, who was in the outer circle, made several 
exclamations that different things were being done to her, 
and Mr. Burns said he wished the spirits would bring Mrs. 
Guppy inside the circle ; presently she was quite silent, and 
Mrs. Ramsay, whose seat was next to hers, said, "Oh ! be 
still and quiet, for Mrs. Guppy is gone ! " In about a minute 
she said in a faint voice, " Where am I ? " and she was 
within the circle, but they must first have entranced her. 
But again she was lifted up, and now in her normal condi- 
tion, for she spoke several times, and her voice was heard 
close to the ceiling. Suddenly she was placed on Mrs. 
Burns's lap, but was quickly removed, and was carried 
swiftly round and round the circle, her dress whisking 
against us, brushing firmly against Mr. Sergeant Cox (who 
was seated next to me) and myself, and at one time I took 
hold of her foot above the level of my head ; then for an 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 225 

instant she was on my lap, and next, at my request, on the 
lap of the friend by my side. She described it as the most 
delicious feeling of dangling. They afterwards floated Mrs. 
Hardy in the same manner, then Mrs. Guppy again, and they 
then seated her on the floor by the side of Mrs. Hardy in 
her chair. Some little squeaking sounds were heard, after 
which a spirit spoke with the direct voice, and told us we 
might ask for some things to take away. Mrs. Hardy 
mentioned one or two, and among them a butterfly ; one 
gentleman asked for a stone, which was brought : also two 
dead butterflies in a box : which I hope Mrs. Hardy has 
taken with her to her transatlantic home. There were 
several other things brought, but nothing of any impor- 
tance. The voice wished us " Good-night," and when the 
gas was lighted, we found the carpet within the circle all 
strewn over with visiting cards from a basket in the corner, 
and the letters Mrs. Guppy had received during the previous 
week. 

It was certainly a wonderful seance, from the great variety 
of manifestations, and was a grand finale for Mrs. Hardy, 
who gave us some hopes that she may pay us another visit 
next year. 

Gummed into the magazine I also find a cutting from 
the Medium on the same subject, so there can be no indis- 
cretion in my reproducing it. " A brilliant reception was 
held by Mrs. Guppy on Wednesday evening, the 28th ult., 
at her house in Victoria Road, Kensington, the occasion 
being in compliment to Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, now on their 
return to America. Mrs. Guppy's pretty residence was 
filled well nigh to overflowing by her friends, amongst 
whom may be named, in addition to Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, 
Prince Albert of Solms, Countess Poulett and Miss Vere, 
Count and Countess Von Wimpffen, Count Bastogi, Hon. 
Mrs. Ramsay and Miss Ramsay, General Brewster, Captain 
James, Mr. Serjeant Cox, Mrs. and the Misses Schletter, 
Mr. and Mrs. James Burns, Mr. Gledstanes, Mr. and Mrs. 
Stack, Mrs. Wiseman, Mrs. Fitzgerald, Miss Houghton, Mrs. 
Petman, Miss Douglas, and Mr. Bentinck. Mrs. Guppy's 

p 



2 26 EVENINGS AT HOME 

recent receptions have been much sought after, and have 
been amongst the most interesting events of the London 
season." 

We little thought that Mrs. Hardy would never revisit 
us, for she was at that time but eight and thirty, but I 
think it was even before the twelvemonth had come round 
that she was removed from the land of mortality to join 
the workers on the other side, and I have no doubt she 
is very active there, for she was a lively, energetic little 
woman. 

The trial of strength with the handkerchief reminds me 
of something that took place in 1863. Shortly after Papa's 
death, Mamma and I went to stay at Beckenham with Mr. 
and Mrs. Varley. They had some friends one day to dinner, 
during which the subject of Spiritualism was broached, which 
was quite new to, I think, two of the visitors ; so in the 
evening a seance was proposed, and some half-dozen of us 
sat round a small table, one of the neophytes being placed 
between Mrs. Varley and myself. My spirit friends lifted 
my hands about five or six inches, so as to be above and 
not resting on the table, when Mr. Ansell raised his in the 
same way : — " Oh ! you are not to do it," said Mrs. Varley, 
"you must put your hands flat on the table." "But I 
can't help it," said he, " I am trying to put them down, 
but I cannot." He clearly was struggling against some 
power, which suddenly was loosed, and his poor hands 
came down upon the table with a most violent bang, which 
left them tingling for some time ; shewing how great was 
the effort he had been making against a something that 
he neither felt nor saw, for the only thing he had been 
aware of, was his utter inability to lower his hands. It 
was indeed a singular manifestation to receive at his very 
first sitting. I have never since met him, but I should 
think he must have had the germs of strong mediumship. 

On the day previous to Mrs. Guppy's seance, I had been 
present at the most extraordinary exhibition I have ever 
witnessed. Madame de Sievers was going to give, in her 
own rooms in the Queen's Road, a concert for the benefit 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 227 

of the poor sufferers by the floods in France, and invited 
me to go for the purpose of seeing what she termed " Les 
oiseaux mediums." I of course declined, because it was out 
of my power to contribute anything to her fund, but she 
urged me most warmly, saying that that was quite unim- 
portant, for there would be sure to be plenty of supporters ; 
so I accepted her cordial kindness, and as soon as I arrived 
she introduced me to Mademoiselle Van der Meersch, the 
elegant possessor of the marvellous birds, and placed me 
in the very best seat, exactly in front of the low table on 
which they were established. I think there were six of them, 
all foreign, and beautiful in plumage; one, I remember, was 
a bishop, but I do not recollect the others, only they were 
all known to me in their kinds, for I have kept a great 
variety myself formerly, but I never attempted to train 
them in any way. They were in a long low cage, divided 
into so many compartments, and in front there was a kind 
of trough or tray along the whole length, of a size to hold 
a row of cards on their edges lengthways towards the cage, 
and thus the cards made a little platform or promenade 
level with the door-sill of the cages. Mademoiselle held a 
little wand in her hand, with which I suppose she was 
accustomed to playfully threaten them, but she seemed 
exceedingly fond of them, and I daresay they were charming 
little companions for her; and I believe she had upwards 
of thirty, so that some stayed at home, to take their turn 
on another occasion. When we were all assembled, she 
took one little package of cards from the tray, and shewed 
us that upon them were the names of months, in French 
on one side, and English on the other. She then begged 
that some one would say which was their favourite month. 
She had replaced the cards before saying so; and when 
the answer had been given , she opened one of the little 
doors, scattering a few grains of seed on the cards, and 
desired the bird, who had trotted out immediately, to select 
the said month, giving him many injunctions to be sure 
and choose rightly : but he went up and down picking up 
the seed before he paid attention to his duties, and then he 



2 28 EVENINGS AT HOME 

touched two or three of the cards with his beak, and finally 
drew one well up, and lo ! it was the very one that had 
been named. She said they were fond of a little applause 
in guerdon of their success, and we willingly bestowed it. 
She spoke to the little creatures quite as if they were 
rational beings, and in the same way they gave the day of 
the week, and of the month, and she would each time take 
a cluster of cards out of the tray to shew us what words or 
figures were inscribed upon them. The questions became 
more and more puzzling, for she would ask you to mention 
two numbers, for them to do an addition sum, and their 
calculations were always correct, and they would in the 
same way subtract. She was very amusing, too, in her 
ways with them, impressing upon them that they must be 
sure not to make a mistake, and they never did ! One of 
the packages of cards consisted of different colours, and 
then we were to fix upon some one's dress, or bonnet ribbon, 
or necktie, that was to be matched, and the feathered 
mediums invariably pulled out the right one, and the cards 
were put in so closely together, that I, just in front, could 
not have told which was which. In some instances we had 
to whisper a word one to the other, with reference to the 
cards she then shewed us, so that Mademoiselle herself 
could not know, and the result was equally sure; and it 
seems to me utterly impossible that any amount of training 
could enable them to do it, so that I quite agree with 
Madame de Sievers that spirits must have been the instruct- 
ing powers, and have guided the little beaks to the right 
place, for their mistress herself often did not know, and 
therefore could give no clue to what she was unaware of, 
and I was quite close to her and her birds, and made 
several of the suggestions myself, as did also Mrs. Ramsay, 
who was by my side. Once Mademoiselle omitted to 
sprinkle the seeds on the platform of cards, and her know- 
ing little subject did not choose to work without his hire, 
so he scornfully trotted straight home again : they were the 
most amusing little creatures, and I should very much like 
to have another matine'e with them, although I do not care 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 229 

for dissipations in the usual way. Mademoiselle had an 
album, in which were the signatures of many of those who 
in different lands had witnessed her wonderful exhibition 
(among them many crowned heads), and there were also 
artistic sketches added by some of those who had shared 
the enjoyment, and in several of these sketches, a spirit- 
hand is seen leading the sensitive bird to the card which is 
to be drawn up : and any one may understand that they 
are pretty closely packed, or the grains of millet seed would 
fall between them, and the little creature would jerk its 
head knowingly on one side with two or three little twitches 
at the card so as to loosen it. I believe she was only in 
England for a very short time, but if she should return, I 
would advise every one who can, to go and see the per- 
formances of her marvellous pets, of which I have given 
but a poor account, as it is so long since that I have neces- 
sarily forgotten the full details. Mademoiselle Van der 
Meersch contributed likewise to the pleasure of the concert 
by singing two or three songs, and it was altogether a 
delightful afternoon. 



230 EVENINGS AT HOME 



CHAPTER XVI. 

There are so many curious ways in which I have been 
helped, and it has only been by comparing all the circum- 
stances that the full force has been realized, so I hope to 
be excused if somewhat prolix in what I am now going to 
detail, as another evidence that there is always a. purpose in 
what may seem accidental. 

On Trinity Sunday, June 8th, 1873, I ^ a ^ the pleasure 
of a long visit from Sir Charles Isham and Mr. Sutherland, 
when we entered very fully into the photographic work, 
which was then the chief object of my life, and I had out 
my large collection of photographs for them to see, giving 
full details of each and all ; so that the hours flew unheeded 
by them and by me, and it was past five o'clock before they 
left. As Ann let them out, in the letter-box (which fortun- 
ately has a glass in front) she found a letter for me, which 
she brought up with full speed : it had not been there when 
she admitted the gentlemen, nor had the person who brought 
it rung the bell; and I imagine that it must have been 
delivered the night before to the wrong address, and that 
whoever had received it had slipped it into my box during 
their Sunday afternoon walk. The letter was from Mrs. 
T., telling me that Miss H. had just arrived from America, 
and was staying with her for a few days, would I therefore 
go there to tea that evening at six o'clock ! Fancy my rush ! 
to fly through my dinner and be off like the wind, leaving 
my turmoil of photographs in a confused heap on the table 
as they were. If that letter had reached me, as in due 
course, the evening before, I should have ordered my 
dinner at an earlier hour, and should have felt fidgety and 
unsettled with my visitors, with half my heart in the Ro- 
chester Road ; yet that interview with Sir Charles was of 
more vital importance than I could at first have imagined, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 23 I 

for it was in consequence of the strong interest thus awak- 
ened in his mind that he was led to think of the stereoscopic 
camera, and to offer the gift of it if I thought it would be 
serviceable 

All hinged upon the detention of that letter. 

Mrs. T. had wondered at my non-arrival, and thought 
I might perhaps be from home, but the spirits said No, 
and that I was coming ; so they waited tea for me, and 
the delay was not very great, for I exactly caught the 
omnibus. We occupied ourselves for some time in looking 
at the spirit drawings in pencil and colours that Miss H. 
had done during the time of her absence from England. I 
had taken a few of the latest photographs with me, and we 
three then established ourselves for a seance, having placed 
them on the little table before us, but instead of Mrs. T. ; s 
taking them up, as she usually does in such cases, I was 
impressed to mesmerise her, when she passed almost imme- 
diately into trance, and presently said with much emphasis : 
— " Thank God ! " (taking a hand of Miss H. and myself,) 
"I greet you all. — My body is being refreshed with sleep; 
in spirit I am here — John Murray Spear (then turning 
towards Miss H.): Did I not tell you, Mary, that my spirit 
must go out with you, even to the waters ? " [Yes, indeed 
you did so], answered she, and he continued, " Your meet- 
ing to-night has brought me across the waters. My body 
passed into a deep sleep at one o'clock this day, New York 
time, in which sleep it still rests : (it was 8.20 by our time). 
Two hours have passed, and I have waited to observe the 
great work there (pointing to where Miss H.'s drawings were 
lying) presented to this mind (placing the right hand on 
my shoulder), before making myself known. Thank God 
for this manifestation, which from this time may occasionally 
be repeated." Here she awoke, and I read to her what 
Mr. Spear had said, and we had only made a few observa- 
tions about it when a gentleman visitor made his appear- 
ance, so we had had exactly time for the intended com- 
munication and the seance was at an end. Miss H. had 
said how strongly and frequently Mr. Spear had spoken 



232 EVENINGS AT HOME 

upon the point, expressing his strong certainty that he 
should thus be able to communicate when the conditions 
on this side should be favourable. 

Twice in the earlier times Mrs. T. had seen Mr. Spear, 
but then it had seemed like her going forth, not his coming 
to us. I was at her house on the evening of November 
21st, 1869, and in the course of a seance we were having, 
she, in trance, said : " I see Mr. Spear, he is lying on a bed : 
there is a window at the side of the bed. — The bed is very 
low. He is thinking of us, and I think he sees us. The 
rain is coming against the window, which is shut : it is quite 
light, and I see his hat in the corner on a chair. Mr. Spear 
looks pale, but I think it is weariness, because his face 
does not look in pain or suffering. He seems to need 
something : he is troubled, perplexed, and we must write 
and say that the cause of the perplexities will pass away in 
five days from this time ; and that will be a test to him that 
he will value. He is lying on the bed, dressed." Mr. 
Spear was at that time in California. Two months later, 
on the following January 21st, on one of our Friday after- 
noon seances, when I had mesmerised her, she said : — 
" Violet clouds are surrounding me ; they roll quite close 
to my face, the edges are of such an intense violet, shading 
off into light tints : they are thrown directly into my eyes. 
— I am looking into something shaped like a telescope, 
only made entirely of these clouds, and there is a face at 
the end that I shall see presently. — How very curious ! it 
is Mr. Spear's face ! he is looking so intently up it, but he 
does not look as if he saw me as I see him. — I am told 
that I am to speak of the vision that I had on Wednesday 
night. It was partly relating to Mr. Spear, just as the 
clock was striking twelve. I had been under influence 
from a very dear friend who is often with me, and suddenly 
I saw every part of Mr. Spear except his head : his hands 
were shewn very distinctly, and his head was in a cloud. 
He made some passes over me, lifting the curtain for the 
purpose, and I was given to understand that he knew I was 
not well. The spirit is saying, ' Now you have seen his . 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 233 

head, so that it is a complete picture.' — Mr. T. heard 
the rustling of the curtains before I told "him who it was, 
but he did not see him. — The spirit says : — ' He will be 
aware of having been here, but will think it a dream ; ' and 
he also adds — ' Tell Mr. Spear the time of these seances, 
and he will devote an hour in sending his thoughts to 
influence in this direction ; ' and the spirit hopes that in 
time those sitting in this circle may all see Mr. Spear and 
perhaps converse with him. It will give Mr. Spear great 
delight to be thus in communion with you, and he will at 
any rate be with you in spirit." I sent out the communi- 
cation to Mrs. Spear, and from that time he did, when it was 
possible, devote the appointed hour (making the necessary 
calculation for the distance) to being with us, but we do 
not then seem to have received any evidence of it. Later 
on came the vision of his apparent death, which I have 
already narrated. 

Miss Kislingbury read a paper before our Association on 
the 3rd of February 1879, on tne subject of "Apparitions 
of the Living," finishing with a circumstance that Mrs. 
T. had long ago related to me, but as I had not recorded 
it, I am glad to be able to give it here in her own words : 
Miss Kislingbury says : . . . " Since concluding the above, 
I have received from a lady, well known to this society, a 
letter containing an excellent example of the class of spiri- 
tual manifestations I have been speaking of to-night. With 
your permission I will give it as it stands : — 

" I have myself had an exceedingly interesting experi- 
ence of the apparition of the living, viz., my own appear- 
ance at the supposed death-bed of my sister, when we were 
three thousand miles apart. She was attended on this par- 
ticular night by another sister, who distinctly saw me go 
into the room, and lean over my darling young sister. The 
latter was too ill to speak, but she whispered, ' Mary is 
here, now I'm happy.' I ought to mention that my elder 
sister is not given to visions, and is indeed a very practical, 
matter-of-fact person; but she has always since declared that 
she saw me from my knees up, and the very dress was plain to 



234 EVENINGS AT HOME 

her too. At this time I was just recovering after my con- 
finement with my son, who is nearly seventeen. He was 
between four and five weeks old, when one night I fell 
asleep, thinking how much I wished to see this sister. I 
knew of her illness, and that she was not expected to 
recover, and of her intense desire to see me. Between us 
the most tender attachment had always existed, and it was 
thought that her illness had been much increased through 
grief at our separation. The previous summer, when we 
came from the United States to this country, I had pur- 
posely kept from her and my mother the knowledge of my 
expected confinement, and they were only informed after 
the birth of the child in a letter from my husband. I 
mention all this to shew how impossible it was for me to 
go to her, as she intensely desired. On the night referred 
to I had a most vivid dream of seeing her, in a bed not in 
her own room, and of seeing my other sister in attendance. 
I leaned over her, and said, as I thought, ' Emma, you will 
recover.' I told my husband I had been home, when I 
woke, and my impression that she would recover. This 
dream comforted me very much, and from this night there 
was a change for the better with my sister, and she gradually 
recovered from what was supposed to be an incurable 
illness. When we came to compare dates, we found that 
my dream and my appearance to my two sisters occurred 
at as nearly as possible the same time. I was so lifelike to 
my younger sister that she thought I really had arrived on 
a visit ; but, as I said before, to my elder sister I was 
shadowy below my knees, but perfectly natural in appear- 
ance. She afterwards remembered that I did not notice 
her as I passed into the inner room, although in my dream 
I saw her, nor did I seem to see anything but the one object 
of my love." Although no farther reference is made to the 
room, Mrs. T.'s sister had at that time been removed out 
of the one she usually occupied, so that even that fact had 
been correctly noted by her spirit (or soul) when on her 
distant visit. 

In the spring of 1875 I went to stay with some friends 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 235 

in the country, from Friday morning till Monday night. 
On the first evening they had some visitors, but on the 
next we were alone, and I had recited the following verses, 
which I had copied into my scrap-book many years ago, 
but I know not the name of the author. 

11 Oh ! there is a dream of early youth, 

And it never conies again ; 
'Tis a vision oflight and life and truth 

That flits across the brain. 
And Love is the theme of that early dream, 

So wild, so warm, so new, 
That in all our after dreams, I deem, 

That early dream we rue. , 

" Oh ! there is a dream of maturer years ; 

More turbulent by far — 
'Tis a vision of blood and of woman's tears, 

For the theme of that dream is war. 
And we toil in the field of danger and death, 

And fight in the battle array, 
Till we find that fame is a bodiless breath, 

That vanisheth away. 

" Oh ! there is a dream of hoary age, 

'Tis a vision of gold in store, 
Of sums noted down in the figured page, 

To be counted and counted o'er. 
And we fondly trust in our glittering dust, 

As a refuge from care and pain, 
Till our limbs are laid in that last dark bed, 

Where the wealth of the world is vain. 

" And is it thus from man's birth to his grave ? 

In the path which all are treading — 
Is there nought in that long career to save 

From remorse and self-upbraiding? 
Oh ! yes ! there's a vision so pure and bright, 

That the being to whom it is given 
Hath bathed in a sea of living light, 

And the theme of that dream is Heaven." 

Even while I was speaking, S. passed under influence, and 
what follows was taken down in short-hand by E., her 
husband. " I want to say that I heard you. ' The theme 
of that dream is Heaven.' — And yet you do not say it quite 
as it is. The dream of youth is a promise of what the 
dream of life, completed, shall be. That is, the dream of 



236 EVENINGS AT HOME 

youth is the dream of inexperience. The vision is clear, 
but the battle of life has not been fought. The dream of 
youth is a selfish dream. It is love for oneself, — mostly 
for oneself alone. And the battle of life teaches you that 
the selfish love will not stand the fire, — that all which is 
selfish must be burned up. If life is lived rightly and 
beautifully, the vision of the youthful soul is all fulfilled : — 
the discipline has crucified the self-hood, and the true 
eternal love begins : the love which has no dross in it. 
Then it is no longer a dream ; it is a fact which makes the 
soul full of melody for ever. . . I want that the young 
should never think that they leave anything behind them 
that is worth carrying forward. The end of life is better 
than the beginning, if the life is lived rightly. It is sad for 
the young to feel, that the flower-time of life, the love-time 
of life, the poetry-time of life, the music-time of life, is left 
behind when youth is gone ! // is not so. — There are 
always to be found better things before. There is better 
music, better poetry; there are brighter visions, there is 
truer hope; there is infinitely more perfect love to be 
found on before. For the soul that walks upward, looks 
upward, lives upward, finds that to-morrow is more beauti- 
ful than to-day : that the end of life, — the grey hairs, the 
withered wrinkled form, which to selfish youth seem sad : 
— that even in this state of decay of the body, the soul is 
brighter, has more abundant hope, — is living really in 
eternal youth : for there is no decay over that which — what 
shall I say ? — Decay holds dominion only over that which 
was born to fade away; which is just the outward. I 
want the young to see this. The old are younger than 
they are, in all things which make young life beautiful. 
Nothing that is really of value is left behind. All things 
grow brighter and purer unto the perfect day. The only 
youth which is worth having is eternal. The pleasures 
are pleasures for evermore." . . . [Who is it that has 
been speaking?] "I will ask them — I am a long while 
ago." (He who was the Roman Catholic priest now 
speaks.) "You do not know her. She has not spoken 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 237 

before. She wanted to come, and it seemed best. It is 
difficult to fix their names ; they do not retain the double 
earth-name as you do. They say 'Jane Thatcher,' but 
this may be entirely wrong. She does not often come 
through us. But that is enough about her. 

" I do not see where you are." [In our usual sitting- 
room in S.] To G. H. " I thought you were with them, 
out of the body. Are you speaking through a body, or are 
you living in a body?" [Yes: I am living in the body.] 
To E. " Then that is clear : your friend is like you, and 
your Her.* Sometimes I can scarcely tell. It is clear 
enough in most cases, but sometimes I cannot tell whether 
people are in the body or not. 

" I cannot say much, but I should like to say quickly 
about last night, which I am quite cognisant of. It seems 
sometimes to you — as we see clearly — that there is no use 
in fighting with opposition, but if I could tell you what we 
see, it would help you. . . . We long that all should come 
to the knowledge that we are, and that we are intimately 
connected with your daily life. It is as if you were in a 
room signalling to others in another room — to those who 
would take no notice of you. This is our abiding feeling : 
— that we hope for the time in which you — speaking gene- 
rally — shall recognise us. Feeling this, you see, we know 
that we have no power over those who are in a material 
state unless you help us. So that we take pleasure in your 
work — selfish pleasure if you like so to call it. That is, 
that through you we may get to these people. When you 
feel that it is not much worth while, we often feel that it is 
very much worth while, and we wish that you would try, your 
Her does not do enough in this. That is, it does not seem 
worth while to mar the harmony by entering into, by dis- 
cussing the subject with inharmonious people. But we 
watch and wait, and know that, so to speak, our only 
chance is through you. You can tell a little how we feel. 
You never lift up your standard without, as it were, blessing 
us : that is, we rejoice through you when we can reach any 
* They speak of S. (their mouthpiece), E.'s wife, as his Her. 



238 EVENINGS AT HOME 

soul which is, so to speak, dead, in material thought. We 
as workmen are powerless ; always in a sense without tools. 
The carpenter looks at the dead rough plank, and he longs 
to fashion it into something : but without his tools he can 
do nothing. We in this way look to you : and when we 
see all around, the rough material, the plank, the log of 
wood, we beseech you to let us use you, if so be that we can 
fashion something which shall contribute a little more to 
the glory of God, and to the good of man, than that being 
can do who is dead in material thought. You are the tools 
now in earth-life, because we have passed onward, and our 
hands lie still. We often entreat you with earnest entreaty 
to let our spirits, through your fingers, your tongues, your 
strong arms, do that work which we see needs doing, but 
which we without you are powerless to perform. Does not 
this shew you what I mean ? I know that spirit power is 
sufficient for all things : — but we reach them through you, 
and when you will not let us work, and think it is not worth 
while, you disappoint us, and you darken yourselves." 
(G. H.) [Was there any good done last night?] "Yes : — 
in this way. It helps us to get nearer to them, and being 
nearer, we can more readily use our influence when there 
is a favourable opportunity. Distance is not it exactly, but 
it is being brought nearer by you, our influence abides 
there. They see a light which they long after, that draws. 
You can dispel all things by acute argument — 'There is 
nothing, nothing is anything, and all is nothing.' — But when 
light which is shewn from the righteous is seen and recog- 
nised, it is longed after. Last night there was a torch of 
spiritual light upheld, and to the light that streams from 
that, they cannot close their eyes. It remains the light- 
giving witness that there is something after which it would 
be good to strive, and for which it would be good to live. 

" Now I shall say one text, and then go. This is God's 
promise to you, and you must feel that it is true, and say 
after me in thought : — ' Thou shalt guide me with Thy 
counsel, and afterward, in a little while, receive me into 
glory' (Psalm lxxiii. 24). It can never fail, if on your part 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 239 

you simply look : God, through His mi?iisters, but still God, 
shall guide you by His counsels and afterwards receive you 
into glory, — which eye hath not seen, for mortal eye must 
dull before it can behold it : which ear hath not heard, for 
mortal ear must be hushed before it can hear it : — neither 
can it enter into the heart of man while in the body to con- 
ceive those things which God hath prepared for those who 
love Him, and who help Him to help His suffering ignorant 
children : for you do help God when you help another. . . . 
God, through His ministers it may be, will certainly guide 
you — there is no mistake,— and afterwards receive you into 
glory." 

I think there is in these messages an infinite pathos that 
I have rarely seen equalled. The humble, earnest plead- 
ing of the spirit to be assisted to aid humanity, shews a 
tender lovingness almost beyond our conception, while 
even the alloy of selfishness (the selfishness of unselfishness) 
is urged in argument. Often have I reverted to that com- 
munication while listening to the futile talk of the material- 
ist, and thought, — well, it is even possible that this wooden 
head may have the capability of being chiselled into shape 
by higher hands, if but one little notch may be pierced, — 
and that remembrance has soothed one's impatience, and 
strengthened one to say yet a few more words. 

I have already spoken of the power of the emanations 
from my drawings, impressed thereon by the influences who 
have aided me in the work, and I am always careful that 
there shall be if possible no human intermixture besides my 
own, by never allowing them to be touched by other fingers, 
and I therefore supply knitting needles to my visitors 
in case they should desire to point out any particular 
portion that may interest them, although I know that 
they sometime consider it a whim on my part, and can- 
not conceive that a mere touch can leave anything 
behind which might even remain ineffaceable ; and yet that 
evidence is clearly given by any substance that has a strong 
odour. At the time of my amateur photography, I painted 
some of my pictures in oils, and used a kind of tiny cup for 



240 EVENINGS AT HOME 

the turpentine in which to clean the brushes. Twelve years 
afterwards I used that same little cup daily for another pur- 
pose, and although I tried every expedient, even putting it 
(filled with water) continually on the hob, I never could 
free it from the original taint. . . When I was in Madeira, 
I saw a beautiful sort of small beetle on a shrub, but 
fortunately I did not touch it (not feeling very secure as to 
the nature of the creeping and flying things there) ; for my 
cousin told me that if I had, I should not have been fit to 
come near any one for almost the whole day, because of 
the odour that would have remained upon my fingers in 
consequence of the contact ; I think the Portuguese name 
for the insect was frade. There was an article in the 
Edinburgh Review for July 1869, which gives an evidence 
of a similar nature, an extract from which I copied, not for 
its scientific, but its spiritual value, and I here subjoin it. 

From "Mrs. Somerville 011 Molecular Science" 

A series of remarkable researches by Dr. Tyndall on 
the absorption exerted on radiant heat by minute quantities 
of. gaseous matter, points out most forcibly the active 
agency of these smallest particles. . . . The odours from 
plants and flowers are shewn to act as most powerful 
absorbents, and the most minute conceivable trace of many 
of these perfumes produced marked effects : — " The per- 
fumes during the experiments adhered to all parts of the 
apparatus so pertinaciously that after a continued stream of 
dry air had been pumped through the tube until the 
exhaustion seemed to be complete, and the needle stood at 
zero ; after a few minutes' repose, the residue of the 
perfume came out so powerfully from the crannies of the 
apparatus as almost to restore the original deflection. 
* The quantities of these residues must be left to the 
imagination to conceive. If they were multiplied by bil- 
lions they would probably not obtain the density of the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 24 1 



CHAPER XVII. 

During their autumnal trip on the Continent, Mrs. T. 
had a communication given through her by Mrs. Marshall, 
which Mr. T. took down at the time, and which she 
then forwarded to me. The poor old soul was anxious 
about my pecuniary matters, and suggested a plan that she 
thought might be advantageous, and finished by saying, " If 
she were here, she would need neither house nor food, and 
she has plenty of spiritual riches." In Mrs. T.'s accom- 
panying letter, she said she had been looking through it, 
and did not think the advice of any value. Indeed it was 
utterly unfeasible, but it was most characteristic of Mrs. 
Marshall, and was of the class of suggestions made to me 
by both her and her son at different times in their normal 
state ; it therefore had its value as proving how much we 
shall all retain our idiosyncrasies in the hereafter, at least 
during the earlier period of our existence in the spirit 
world. 

My second visit to her after her return home was on the 
2nd of December, and in the first part of the evening she 
had just a momentary glimpse of Mrs. Marshall, which led 
to some little talk about her and the message she had sent, 
but we had then no further manifestation. Later on I 
made some allusion to its being Papa and Charlie's birth- 
day, and Mrs. T. said, "That is what they are telling 
me about, and that there are so many of them here." 
I spoke of feeling something like S. John's signal, and yet 
the sensation was stronger and more forcible than that, and 
then she exclaimed, " Oh ! here is the old lady again, try- 
ing to speak to me." That reminded me of the time 
(May 6th of this year, of which the account is given in 
the " Chronicles ") when Mrs. T. had seen my forehead as 
it were lighted up with a flame which seemed to go up 



242 EVENINGS AT HOME ■ 

from the eyes, the forehead, and the front of the head, 
and I also remembered that I had then felt the same 
peculiar glow ; and as Mrs. Marshall had on that occa- 
sion been summoned to look at it, I thought that perhaps 
she could now see it. "Yes," said Mrs. T., "she is 
speaking to me, saying — I see it, I see it." The expres- 
sion of her countenance changed, and I saw that she 
was passing under influence, and soon it was as Mrs. 
Marshall that she turned towards me, giving me her 
hand in greeting, and saying, " I am so glad to be with 
you again, dear Miss Houghton : — your head is all lighted 
up and shining . . . Thank God, I am quite happy now. 
The Lord is very good to me. . . . I can go anywhere now." 
[Could you come to me ?] " I think I could if I were 
asked' 1 [I should be glad to have you whenever you can 
come.] " I should like to come if I can, and perhaps I 
might help you, for I do want so much to do it : you were 
always so good to me, and you have done me so much good. 
You see you are so spiritual, and all those about you are so 
spiritual, that perhaps such a material body as I am, might 
attract material things to you. But I don't know — only The 
Lord knows, and He might let me work for you in my way 
... I must do something ; I can't rest without I do some- 
thing. Oh ! I ought not to have told you that, because 
you may think it is only for my own sake, because I must 
not rest till I have done something for you, but I do want 
to help you, for I love The Lord, and I love those whom 
The Lord loves, and I think He will let me. I think I see 
something coming to you soon ; and may I come to see 
you?" [Oh ! yes, if you can.] " I think I can with her," 
pointing as if meaning Mrs. T., so I suggested that she 
should try to make her come to my house, and the sooner 
the better. "Yes," continued she, "but I had such a 
trouble to come through her now, I could not get into her 
head ; it seemed quite, quite full, and all in a whirl like this 
(moving her head round and round) full of everybody's 
troubles, and I had to spoon, and spoon, and spoon it out 
before I could get in. . . . Good-bye, and God bless you." 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 243 

Mrs. T. here awoke. She had told me in the earlier part 
of the evening, that the tree had been planted on Mrs. 
Marshall's grave, and I referred to her having expressed 
her anxiety about that when she had influenced her while 
in Pomerania, but she had not remembered that, having 
only glanced through the communication before forwarding 
it to me. 

The following was sent to me by a friend in the country. 

"Message given through — W — Christmas Day, 1875. 
Coming a new year of your earth time : to you of many 
changes. Change brings life : — with life, Hope and Courage 
stand on each side of Faith : — thus shall you be supported 
through all, through all. . . . Those whom God counts 
worthy to do His Holy Will must pass this gate of dis- 
cipline : — to some in one way, to others in another : — what- 
ever each can least bear is sent ; then these are strengthened 
in the trial and thus grow strong. — Strong to endure, strong 
to counsel, strong to sympathize. 

Will you be strong and suffer ? — or 
Will you be aveak and live at ease ? 

Lo ! this day we place these two before you, which ye shall 
choose ! We are able in God's Holy Will to give you which 
you will have. Between God, yourself, and Us this alone 
stands. We aid you either way, and seven days are given 
for you to decide. ... By order of St. Michael and other 
Six, this is written for Georgiana Houghton." 

To this there could be but one response ; that I would 
seek for strength, whatsoever might be the suffering appointed 
to me. But the very message itself brought me comfort, 
by proving that hearts were beating in sympathy with me, 
and that the same high intelligences who guide my own 
life, could give me such tender assurances through other 
channels. How true it is that to each one is sent the trial 
that to them would seem the most difficult to be borne. 
To me has come what in former years I have said I could 
not endure, and yet, thank God ! I have been enabled to 
do so, and to drink the bitter cup to the dregs : — these have 



244 EVENINGS AT HOME 

been years of trial in many forms, but yet they have been 
years of blessing for the wondrous ways in which, in the 
moment of deepest need, help has reached me from the 
most unexpected sources: "heaviness may endure for a 
night, but joy cometh in -the morning," and although the 
"heaviness" may return again and again, the "joy" is ever 
new and sparkling. 

Mrs. T. came to see me on the 26th of January, and at 
one moment she was almost passing under influence, but I 
checked it because she had not been well : she had had a 
gleam as of a form coming between us. All at once I. felt 
the peculiar sensation of my head lighted up, when it seems 
to glow, and it again reminded me of old Mrs. Marshall, 
who had never yet been able to make her entrance here ; 
and upon my saying so, Mrs. T. heard the answer " Yes." 
. . . Poor old soul! I am glad. — Mrs. T. had been ask- 
ing me in the earlier part of her visit for the date of the old 
lady's death, for she is going to look at her grave, and see 
if the tree planted there seems to be flourishing, — but after 
that bit of talk she had passed out of our minds, but it was 
then that she was admitted into the room. 

I went to the Albert Road on the following day, and 
while we were in quiet talk, I noticed that she was looking 
very earnestly at me, so I asked if she saw the light, for 
that I was feeling the sensation on my head. She said no, 
but would I describe to her what the feeling was like — was 
it as if of a strong pressure ? I pointed to the clear, bright 
fire, and said that it seemed to glow like that, but that at 
the same time there was a feeling as of air circulating, or, 
as if one might be in front of a glowing furnace with 
delicious vibrations of air tempering it ; but still there was 
a perception of vitality in it that neither of those descrip- 
tions could give. While I was yet speaking she saw the 
light. . . . Then she said: "Now /feel it, what a pleasant 
sensation it is !" 

On the 14th of March (1876) came a grief to me that 
will be well understood by any one who has had a pet, for 
when I came down in the morning I found my Dove dead 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 245 

at the bottom of the cage. Although she had at different 
times had illnesses when I had feared I might lose her, 
such had not now been the case, as she had appeared quite 
well, and had been in* her small conversation with me the 
night before until within a short time of my going to bed, 
so that it was utterly unexpected. She had been my dear 
little companion for nearly eight years, with her cage by the 
side of my easel, and her general place when I was at work 
was on the lower perch, and as close to me as she could 
get. I must confess that it was a sore trouble to me, and I 
missed her sadly for some time. On the 5th of April Mrs. 
T. came to see me, and of course the first feeling was 
that of missing the Dove from her accustomed spot, and 
while we were gently talking on the subject, I suddenly 
stopped to listen, and so did she, in the same moment, and 
then she asked, " Have you got another one ? " to which I 
said, "Then you heard it also." "Yes," she rejoined, 
" I heard three distinct coos, at about the farther end of 
the table ; — have you any feathers or anything of hers 
there ? " No, I had not ; but the sound which we both 
heard so distinctly, almost as loud as her own living coo, 
thrice repeated, came from just beyond the place where the 
glass containing her eggs usually stands, only on that occa- 
sion they were removed into the back room, as I had had 
the gift of a hyacinth for this one. 

I took my poor pet to Mr. Gardner, in Oxford Street, to 
be stuffed, and he was struck with the fine condition it was 
in, both with respect to plumpness and plumage : he 
executed his commission very satisfactorily, and I have 
hung her case just over my portfolios. As soon as Mrs. 
Guppy- (now with the addition of) Volckman, heard of my 
loss, she came to me at Mr. Hudson's, to insist upon bear- 
ing the expense of it for me. and another kind friend had 
also done the same ; so that in that trial I had received the 
immediate help as to the pecuniary difficulty, and Mr. 
Gardner fulfilled his promise of having it ready by the 6th 
of April, when an entertainment had been organised in 
Cambridge Hall for the benefit of poor Mr. Hudson, with 



246 EVENINGS AT HOME 

whom matters were again going very badly, for however 
careful a man may be, if almost nothing comes in, it is not 
enough for a family to live on. I had thought that pro- 
bably I might have shewn the Dove to the audience in 
general, and given in a few words the history of the Whit 
Sunday seance when she had been brought to me, but Mr. 
Burns's programme was already made out, so my informa- 
tion on the subject was limited to those persons who were 
seated near me. 

Mr. Joseph was very anxious to replace it to me with 
another dove, or to give me some other bird instead, but 
although grateful to him for his kindness in proposing it, I 
felt that any other would rather recall my loss than give me 
any gratification, so I entirely declined his proffered gift. 
Indeed, very few people seemed to realize how differently 
I felt with respect to her than merely as a pet bird ; not 
only from the wonderful circumstances of her being brought, 
but also as such a link between Mamma and myself: the 
evidence of which was so strongly given by my obtaining 
two such good spirit-photographs of Mamma when I took 
the Dove enclosed in its case to Mr. Hudson's ; and it has 
seemed to me that the dear little creature's death took place 
at exactly the right time, so that I could take it for the 
Maundy Thursday sitting on the 13th of March. Also the 
length of time that I had had her was in conformity with 
my own number^ for the eight years were nearly completed. 
On Saturday evening, May 13th, I had a curious mani- 
festation which lasted at least three hours, beginning just 
after I came up from dinner. It was like a gentle tapping 
on or near my portfolio-stand, almost as regular and as con- 
tinuous as the ticking of a clock, although with occasional 
variations : sometimes it would be an even beat, at others 
it would have the alternating time of a pendulum. While 
I was drinking my tea, it gave the beat of Jim Ramsay's 
signal. Sometimes it would give only five beats, and stop ; 
but it was not as the request for the alphabet. Of course, 
lasting so long, while I was busy drawing, I did not take 
constant heed, but twice it attracted my attention by stop- 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 247 

ping, and when I said aloud, "Now you have left off;" it 
recommenced. Finally, it seemed to have finished, but 
just afterwards a post-card from Mrs. T. was brought up 
to me, when it began again with fresh vigour. The only 
information given to me on the subject was that many 
spirits were concerned in it, and that they were gathering 
power, but whether that power was to distribute among 
others, or to be used in my own work, was not revealed. 
Since that time the same tapping has come to me at intervals, 
and Miss Ingram has likened it to the sounds heard in 
mines, and considers it a token that my portfolios are to 
be to me as a mine of gold where the spiritual workers are 
still busy until the right time shall arrive for the contents to 
be brought forth to the full light of day, and be productive 
of wealth to their anxious-hearted possessor. 

I had then so little photographic work that only my 
Thursdays were given to it, in my visits to Mr. Hudson, 
therefore I had for some time gone on steadily with my 
drawing ; that of the symbolism, for alas ! commissions did 
not come in, although I must acknowledge that it was the 
sacred work that was always the most charming to me, 
unless indeed it might be a character of especial sweetness 
that had to be delineated through me. A series of draw- 
ings had been (in the course of years) completed, wherein 
each sept of the Archangels had symbolised the Eye of The 
Lord ; ten separate pictures, and in the same way, another 
series was in progress, representing the Shield. 

Mrs. T. came to see me on Monday, July 3rd, and 
about an hour before she came in, I had finished " The 
Shield," No. 4, upon which I had been occupied for twenty 
weeks. It has a peculiar effect, not giving our earthly ideas 
of a shield, which is only to ward off blows from any parti- 
cular spot that it may cover at the moment, whereas this 
looks like infinite arches, under which one may be entirely 
sheltered ; and during the early work of the drawing it had 
continually expressed the thought of countless wings, waving 
above, around, and in every part. 

I did not expect any visitor, but had been told not to 



248 EVENINGS AT HOME 

remove it from the easel, so when Mrs. T. came in, my 
first thought was to shew it to her, for which purpose I put 
it in my favourite point of view on the sofa, seating her in 
the chair where she could see it best. Almost immediately 
she gave a little shiver, and said, " Did you not feel that ? 
it was like sharp steel, passing swiftly and cuttingly." Then 
she assumed a listening attitude, and as if repeating the 
words she heard, she said, " Take to yourself covering, and 
be hidden." I saw she was passing under influence, so I 
got out the porcelain slate in readiness to write, when she 
once more said, with much emphasis : — "Take to yourself 
covering, and be hidden, for the day so long foretold 
draweth near, in the which they shall say, — Rock and 
mountain fall upon us, hide us from the eye of The Lord. 
. . . Already the Eastern sky reddens for the birth of a 
sun of righteousness. A sun shall come through throes 
which shall shake the earth to its centre. The wicked shall 
surely perish, but the righteous will be gathered into the 
kingdom of The Lord. ... So the wicked will then say, 
Rock and mountain fall on us, and cover us from the eye 
of The Lord, — and thou shalt say, Inasmuch as ye have 
chosen to be naked, no covering can be given you." Here 
she awoke with a start, as if roused by the force with which 
she had spoken. This led us to talk of the Eastern war 
which is even now beginning, and I reminded her of Mrs. 
Marshall's fall, which had been said to be typical of a blow 
to England. ... On that occasion, June 2nd, 1874, we 
had been together to Mrs. Marshall's, when after much 
interesting conversation, Mrs. T. had passed into deep 
trance, and had said : — " The blow was typical of the 
crushing weight which shall come to this nation steeped in 
luxury and wickedness. Behold in the East a cloud no 
larger than the hand, but it shall overspread the heavens. 
Before the storm descends a way shall be made for my 
people. To the land cry aloud that my people be gathered 
in spirit, so that no division come. The nation shall be 
purified as by fire, and the righteous shall possess the land. 
(Turning tenderly towards me she added) — A host no 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 249 

mortal can count encompasseth you, and your vision shall 
be opened to see, and all fear shall depart from those who 
are the chosen of The Lord." 

In our youth we often do heedless things for which we 
have afterwards to suffer. While I was in Madeira I had 
a quantity of pretty grey seeds given to me, called Coix 
lachrymae, Job's tears ; they were of a good size, and I 
pierced holes in them to enable me to thread them into 
necklaces for my two younger sisters. But some of them 
were exceedingly hard, so that it was with great difficulty 
that the needle could be induced to perform the operation, 
and I had frequently to bring my teeth into requisition in 
pulling the needle through, and in so doing, I made a small 
notch and a slight upward crack in one of the front teeth ; 
which however did not trouble me, but it made me rather 
more cautious for the future, and finally I brought home 
my necklaces in triumph. But as the years rolled over my 
head, the upper part of that damaged tooth shewed serious 
symptoms of decay ; and Mamma had made me promise 
that if I should lose it, I would have it replaced by an 
artificial one, for it would be indispensable for the clearness 
of my utterance, and she had never contemplated that I 
should have any difficulties as to worldly matters . . . One 
day when I was quietly eating a piece of bread-and-butter 
(not crust), I found something in my mouth that ought not 
to be there, at least not exactly in that situation, for it was 
that large unhappy tooth that had snapped right off, and I 
thought, — well, Mamma, I suppose I may have the new 
tooth at some future time, but 7iow, it is undoubtedly im- 
possible. ... On that afternoon, a friend who had been 
at the sea-side, returned to town, and came in at once to 
see me ; and she had not been here many minutes before 
she exclaimed about the loss of my tooth, and I told her 
she was very unkind to discover it so quickly, but that I 
had no doubt I should gradually get accustomed to the 
vacuum, and that then it would not be so perceptible, and 
I joked over my misfortune. 

She came in again early the next day, and her first greet- 



250 EVENINGS AT HOME 

ing was that she must give me that tooth ! ! Was it not 
wonderful that she, who had been away for seven weeks, 
should have returned to town on the very day of my 
calamity, and should so lovingly have come to my relief? 
And what rendered the circumstance yet more striking to 
my mind, was that it was on the 19th of July that my tooth 
broke off, and on the 20th that she promised me the new 
one : — the anniversary of my drawing-mediumship day ! 
God does indeed frame my life into one perfect whole, and 
finally converts each trial into a new source of thanksgiving. 

About a month previously the dearest friend of my girl- 
hood (the Kate Hills with whom I had had my earliest 
experiences in Spiritualism), who had been away in South 
America for about nine years, returned to England. She 
had remembered my love for birds, for in former times I 
had a magnificent aviary for which I had given ten guineas, 
making a happy home for a variety of pretty foreigners : 
and she had brought me a cardinal, so that all-unsought as 
it were, another bird was to be mine. He was the wildest 
little creature, scarcely bearing to be looked at ; I suppose 
it was but young when caught, and not even the long sea 
voyage had tamed him. Being thus lovingly bestowed 
upon me, I could only rejoice in the gift, and I formed a 
sort of fancy that added to his value as especially appro- 
priate to my home, for he sets up his little crimson crest 
just like a flame. I had great difficulty in at all taming 
him, especially as I never have any time to devote to such 
a purpose ; but Mr. Joseph recommended a little judicious 
starving as the only remedy, assuring me that it would not 
harm him, and he was thus gradually brought into good 
behaviour, and is now universally admired. My dear Kate 
passed into the spirit world more than a year ago. 

Communion with Mrs. P. . . . For some time back I 
have occasionally felt a touch on my foot, but have usually 
been stayed in my enquiries as to who it was, beyond the 
fact that it was some one whom I had not personally known. 
On Saturday (July 29th) the feeling came much more 
strongly than it had ever been before, and I was impressed 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 25 I 

to pursue my questions, when I learned that it was Mrs. 
P.; at least I was corrected, and told " Emily P." She said 
she came to " sit at my feet," in the apostolic sense — I then 
felt her nestling against my knee. I asked whether, on 
her first passing from mortality, she had been troubled by 
her cruel tormentors, who had seemed to threaten some- 
thing of the kind, but she said No, that she had been 
entirely protected from their assaults ; and that those who 
first surrounded her were the spirits whose photographs she 
had received from me, — my dear brother Cecil, St. Stephen, 
Hannah the mother of Samuel, and the damsel named 
Rhoda ; and her earliest consciousness was of being in this 
room with me. After that, she saw, and gradually recog- 
nised many of the brighter spirits with whom she had so 
long been in communion. She is very happy, but she has 
not yet attained to her spirit home, although she does gain 
occasional glimpses of it, but she will have much to do in 
the world's spiritual movement ; although requiring to be 
strengthened in many ways ere she will be equal to the 
work allotted to her to perform, and much of that strength 
will have to be gained in the atmosphere of this room, filled 
as it is to overflowing with the aroma from the pictures, 
which forms a kind of material medium through which the 
influences who have guided my hand in their performance, 
can link themselves with those who are seeking to rise 
upwards ; and I am told also to add that it is impossible 
to explain to mortal comprehension the value to the spirit 
world of this same home of mine and its varied contents. 

On the 15th of July, I went to a se'ance at Mrs. Guppy- 
Volckman's, which I believe to have been the one of which 
I have the following reminiscence. We were a party of 
about a dozen, and we went up into the small room appro- 
priated to her sittings. In the first instance we had a dark 
seance when flowers were brought, and the spirits gave me 
some beautiful white lilies. We then went down to take 
tea, and re-assembled in the hope of another class of mani- 
festation. We had no light in the room, but the gas was 
burning brilliantly in the lobby, and our door was partly 



252 EVENINGS AT HOME 

opened, so that there was sufficient light for us to distinguish 
clearly one another's features. A vacant chair was placed 
at my right hand ; Mrs. Volckman being seated on the 
other side of it, and Lady A. was next beyond her. There 
was not much talk, for we all watched the vacant place in a 
kind of breathless expectation, and gradually we beheld a 
sort of white cloudiness which by slow degrees became more 
and more substantial, until finally it had exactly the appear- 
ance of one of Mr. Hudson's photographs : — just a bust, 
and with the head draped in a similar manner to theirs. 
Mrs. Volckman asked me to speak, so I put two or three 
questions, to which he responded by gravely bowing his head, 
three times for yes, or once for no. He was above the seat, 
at about the same height as we ourselves were. I then asked 
if he could approach closer to me, which he gradually did 
(the motion being so gentle as to be almost imperceptible), 
until his face was within about three inches of mine. He 
had a closely trimmed brown beard, and I think his eyes 
were blue, although at this distance of time I cannot be 
sure, but I did notice the colour and remembered it when 
afterwards telling of the seance, but unluckily I made no 
memoranda. Several others round the table asked ques- 
tions, but he did not seem to hear their voices. When he 
approached me so closely, he had floated towards me above 
the level of the table. I then asked if he would move over 
to Lady A, so that she might see him clearly, with which 
he at once complied ; passing on yet a little farther, but 
not much ; and he gradually floated back to his original 
place above the chair, where we still saw him for some little 
time, flickering stronger and fainter at intervals until he 
faded in the same gradual manner that he had appeared to 
us. Mrs. Volckman seemed very nervous all the time, and 
her hands were quite cold and damp when she afterwards 
gave them to me to feel : — but it was a most interesting 
apparition. 

I went to Mrs. T.'s on the 3rd of August, and in the 
evening, while we were in quiet conversation, she passed 
gradually into trance, and said with great impressiveness, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 253 

making sometimes lengthy pauses : — " My words that I 
speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life : hearken 
therefore unto the words of My voice, for therein is life. 
. . . By the small gentle voice the way shall open. . . . 
Where two or three are gathered in My name, there also 
am I : — as it was in the past time, so it is now. . . . Hast 
thou not read? sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh 
in the morning : does My promise ever fail ? — My peace I 
give unto thee, that peace which passeth man's understand- 
ing, but which thou canst receive, for lo ! thou knowest that 
I am with thee always. . . . These thoughts are given now 
to strengthen thee through the troubles that beset thy 
pathway." She awoke gently, and as I had all the time felt 
most strongly the sensation on my forehead ; I asked her 
if she saw the light. " Oh ! yes, but you seem all lighted 
up (and she touched my dress as if she thought she should 
be able to feel the light), and all behind you there is light." 
Then she appeared to be listening, and as if repeating the 
words she heard, said : "lam the Light that lighteth the 
world." 

In the course of our conversation in the afternoon, she 
told me that she had latterly had some figures very con- 
stantly shewn her : first there was one eight, then another ; 
then there would be two ones ; and they would be grouped 
about in various ways. — " 1881," answered I, — " the same 
date as that given in Mother Shipton's prophecy." That 
was an entirely new idea for her, as it had not struck her as 
referring to a date : she had only thought that perhaps 
figures had been troubling her brain because she had been 
helping her daughter with her arithmetic in preparation for 
the examination she is going up for. Shortly after the 
manifestation of Light that I have recorded above, she 
said : " Now I see those figures again, on your face, 1881, 
an eight on each cheek, and the ones outside." At that 
time, in 1876, the date belonging to this year was not so 
much thought about by people in general, as it has been 
since its nearer and nearer approach. It is now upon us, 
and certainly, as far as my own life is concerned, the figures 



254 EVENINGS AT HCME 

might well be manifested in forms of light upon my coun- 
tenance ; therefore that in that instance it might be con- 
sidered as a personal prophecy (little as I then suspected it) 
which has most assuredly been marvellously fulfilled, for 
even in the opening of this year, my pathway looked most 
densely dark, but in the very worst moment, the light 
suddenly irradiated it, filling me with wonderment and 
gratitude ; and only now has this solution presented itself 
to my mind, for although I have often reverted to the date 
having thus been seen on my cheeks, I had never recollected 
that it had come in combination with the previous words of 
comfort that had been spoken to me through her. 

She wrote to me from Malvern on the 21st of September, 
saying : " I often think of you, and dreamed the other night 
of seeing you in such shining clothes ; they seemed like 
what you wore at your Exhibition, but to be shining like 
mother-of-pearl. When I got up in the morning, I opened 
for a verse for you, and it was S. Matthew xvii. 2 : ' And 
He was transfigured before them, and His face did shine as 
the sun, and His raiment was white as the light.' I had just 
been telling Mr. T. about my dream, and he was as much 
struck as myself when I opened to the above verse." 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 255 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The outside public had been most wonderfully stirred in 
the course of this year by the visit to England of Dr. Slade, 
whose mediumship attracted more attention than any had 
done since the first appearance here of the Brothers Daven- 
port. I did not have the pleasure of witnessing any of the 
phenomena myself, for the guinea fee (even had it been 
fractionised to the smallest degree) was quite out of my 
power; but my cousins went to him, and received not only 
the slate-writing evidence, but, in the broad daylight, Mrs. 
Pearson saw andfe/t her mother's hand caressing hers, and 
Mr. Pearson in the same way was patted on the chest by 
his father's hand, which they both of them saw. Those 
parents also were the spirits who dictated the messages 
written for them on the slate, and thus they were charac- 
teristic ones. We Spiritualists know that we are sure to get 
the best manifestations when we go to mediums, although 
we may be utter strangers to themselves personally : because 
our own atmosphere is already in harmony with the invisible 
world, therefore we can easily forgive those outsiders who 
are disappointed that nothing of importance comes to 
them : — but we cannot forgive those who therefore make an 
outcry of fraud; and the foolish conduct of Professor Ray 
Lankester and Dr. Donkin will remain as a dark blot on 
their lives in the history of Spiritualism, for their persecution 
of an innocent and gifted man. I wended my way to Bow 
Street on the 10th of October, in the hope of hearing some 
portion of the trial, but the crowd was far too dense for me 
to have a chance of penetrating through it, or finding a 
place within the court, so I finished my day in Harpur 
Street with my cousins. 

Although the case was not absolutely taken up by our 
Association, for our funds would not admit of our undei- 



256 EVENINGS AT HOME 

taking law proceedings ; the committee who did work in 
his favour, consisted of many of our own members, and the 
use of our rooms was freely assigned to them for their 
meetings. I will not attempt to go into the law details, as 
I might make a blunder ; but I know that the ill-used man 
was set free, but with sadly shattered health, and that his 
friends at once took him abroad. But his persecutors then 
took some other step, so that he should not dare to return 
here, or he would be again incarcerated. I know likewise 
that he afterwards wrote to Ray Lankester, offering (if he 
would ensure his safety under the circumstances) to come 
to England for one week, so as to give him several oppor- 
tunities for testing the phenomena, to which he received no 
reply whatever. Such conduct was not only ungentlemanly, 
but makes it clearly evident to me that it was not truth in 
any way that was sought for in the first instance, but just 
some opportunity to victimise the man through whose 
instrumentality the proofs .of a Hereafter might be given. 
Those two gentlemen may be scientific, but I am thankful 
to say that we have many Englishmen of unquestionable 
science whose judgment is not limited within the narrow 
boundaries of their own profession, whatever it may be ; or 
we should be put to shame by the more liberal conduct of 
foreigners, as for instance Professor Zollner of Leipzig, 
whose "Transcendental Physics," translated by Mr. Carleton 
Massey, is an entire and grand refutation of the accusation 
brought against Dr. Slade, — whose innocent table, by the 
bye, remains at our rooms for the inspection of everybody; 
and even the most weak-minded antagonist must acknow- 
ledge that it is free from anything in the shape of trickery. 
A few months ago, after vainly trying for Marcus Ward's 
foreign paper all down Oxford Street, I called, en route to 
our rooms, upon a stationer named Lake, in Great Russell 
Street, and after a little talk about what I wanted, he 
offered to get it for me, as I said I should again be in the 
neighbourhood on that day week and could call for it, 
mentioning where I was going. He then told me that it 
was of him that Dr. Slade had been in the habit of buying 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 257 

his slates, and at first he had thought he must be a school- 
master from his needing so many, but that gradually Dr. 
Slade had entered into conversation with him, and he had 
thus learned something on the subject of Spiritualism. 
When the trial came on, the prosecutors, having heard that 
he had supplied the slates, came to subpoena him to give 
evidence in the case, but when they found that the slates 
were just common ones with no contrivances of any kind, 
they did not summon him to shew up innocence ! all they 
had wanted was proofs of fraud ! ! the manifestation of 
truth was by no means their object. 

Mr. Joseph's health had gone on steadily improving ; so 
much so that in the April of this year he had had a very 
charming spirit photograph taken at Mr. Hudson's, which 
forms one of the illustrations of that work. But now the 
visions given to him were chiefly of the boundless ocean, 
which he interpreted as a sign that a long voyage would be 
the best recipe for his recovery, and he finally decided 
upon going to Melbourne, and thought he might be absent 
perhaps a year or two, but he hoped I would write fre- 
quently, so that my letters might convey a something of 
the beneficial influences that he was always conscious of 
obtaining when within my home ; accordingly our corre- 
spondence was very steady. 

I spent November 21st at Mrs. T.'s, and in the even- 
ing was telling her about Mr. Joseph's approaching depar- 
ture on the 27th, when I saw that she was in some degree 
receiving influence, so I enquired what it was ; and she 
said : "They are telling me that you two are to be brought 
together again, for that your work is most closely united, 
and as it were dovetails into one another. — It is very 
curious ! they are shewing me a saw, and now another, 
with the two edges fitted exactly into one another, to 
express how complete is the union of the work." 

Again to me at this Christmas of 1876 came a message 
through — W — 

"To Georgiana the well-beloved! Blessing and glory 
and honour. . . . Days come when the cloud and the 

R 



258 EVENINGS AT HOME 

shadow shall be no more remembered, when Faith shall 
triumph in the Light of the All-Holy, as she now uplifts 
the banner of the Dove in the midst of the dark night of 
unbelief. 

"The Holy Watchers are watching, and the morning Star 
rises in the dawn of the year that is coming up. As birds 
fly swiftly, so shall many changes come, and glad new 
tidings from the East are at hand. . . . Take new 
courage, oh ! thou tried and faithful one, for the glory of 
The Lord shall suddenly come upon thee, and the days 
of thy mourning shall be ended ! 

From the Holy watchers" 
I have spoken in the other volume of the small pen-and- 
ink monograms of which I had done so many as birthday 
gifts for friends, on cards the size of those used by ladies 
when on calling expeditions ; and at the latter end of this 
year one of those friends enclosed me a half sovereign, 
with the hope that I might be aided to do one for her of 
the same size in colours. I well understood the tender 
delicacy of her suggestion, and that she was desirous of 
thus sending me all the aid that her finances would allow, 
and I was exceedingly glad when my helpers not only 
agreed to it, but selected for me at Roberson's a block of 
drawing-paper of nearly five inches by three and a half, 
and a very lovely monogram was done, which was placed 
in a good-sized sunk mount ; thus it made a very pretty 
picture, far beyond anything she had figured to herself, 
and she warmly hoped that I might receive many other 
commissions of the same class. 

It is not usual for me to have any messages written 
through me for others, although fragmentary bits of advice 
or comfort may sometimes go in any letters I may be 
sending, although seldom as given by any one but myself; 
I was therefore surprised when a friend wrote to me from 
the country that she had been told that I should receive a 
communication for her from Michael the Archangel ; which 
was given that same evening, and I am here to copy a 
portion of it, as being also partly to myself. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 259 

" I, Michael, the Arm of The Lord — sent from on high 
to muster the forces of earth, to work together with the 
heavenly host, — for the dire strife which is now close at 
hand — do summon you, Q, to don your armour of proof, 
and to be prepared to take your full share in the warfare 
which now approaches. You will say, How can I work ? 
In what way can my feeble hands avail ? — But lo 1 I tell 
you that you will have much work to do, and you will see 
ways open to you, leading you apparently into new paths 
of life, but they are not new, inasmuch as that you have 
been gradually preparing to walk therein during the hours 
of mortal slumber, when your spirit has been guided by 
mighty ones along sure paths, whence you, looking down, 
have seen trembling mortals falling down precipitous rocks 
which you have passed in safety, because you trusted not 
in your own strength, but knew that your hand was held 
by God's own appointed agents ; therefore you could walk 
steadily on, looking ever upwards, whereas they, weak but 
self-sufficient, thinking that they could themselves remove 
all obstacles from their path, thus lost their balance, and 
fell into the abyss. Understandest thou, my daughter, 
what I fain would teach ? That thou must follow without 
fear the leadings given unto thee, even if they may seem 
in some degree not to tally exactly with what might appear 
the most pleasant to thee : — but thou hast many trials 
known only to thine own heart ; but also thou hast bless- 
ings many and great, as well as that peace which the world 
cannot give : and in the forthcoming conflict with the evil 
hosts now pursuing earth's sons and daughters more hotly 
than ever, it will be given to thee to confute many of the 
lying statements poured forth through their human mouth- 
pieces. . . . May God's grace ever shine upon thee, thou 
faithful one, Michael, Archangel. 

"January 21st, 1877." 

On Wednesday, February 14th, Mrs. T. came to see 
me, and as Miss Creighton was my only other visitor, we 
had a nice quiet talk, while they were both seated in 



260 EVENINGS AT HOME 

admiration of the (full-size, commissioned) Monogram on 
which I am engaged, of which the two letters are M and M 
as if one within the other. Presently I thought Mrs. T. 
looked as if she were either hearing something or likely to 
pass into trance, and she said that as she came along, she 
had seemed to feel the presence of Mrs. Marshall, and at 
one time the omnibus had appeared to her to stop to take 
some one up, and upon looking, she saw an old lady being 
helped in, who took her seat near the door, whom she 
seemed to recognise as our old friend — and then, upon 
rousing herself, and looking again, there was no person 
there whatever ! ! After a little more talk, I saw she cer- 
tainly was passing under influence, so I got the slate. 
Then came the words : — " Do you think she's asleep ? — I'm 
afraid she isn't asleep, for she never will go if she can help 
it." She then took Miss Creighton's hand, and gave her a 
message of some length : after which she addressed herself 
to me. " I am her sister : — perhaps you do not know me." 
[ Whose sister ? Who are you ?] " Her sister (pointing to 
herself), I did not have any name. — But that old lady ; she 
came when we came — she wanted to make her go to sleep 
. . . she couldn't, and she can't talk now. The message is 
like this from that poor old lady, M M; (the letters were 
said with rather strong emphasis, as if dear old Mrs. 
Marshall had felt very proud that we should be doing a 
monogram with similar initials to her own). She works, 
too, for you, and will do all she can." As there was a 
slight pause, I said, [May I be permitted to ask if you are 
the sister who was photographed with Mrs. T. as my 
first professional sitter ?] " Yes. — I am one year younger 
than she is, in some things but not in all." [You will 
pardon my interruption, but I wished to ascertain whether 
I was right in my inference.] "Quite right, and I am glad 
you asked." [May you now continue your message ?] 
" She will do all she can to help you through this time — 
and more will come. I can't give you the words, but it 
comes as a picture. There is a stick, like this (extending 
her two hands horizontally about a yard), and here there is 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 26 1 

another stick, so (putting her hand down perpendicularly 
about midway of the other stick as if joined to it, and about 
half the length downwards ... as I now understand, it would 
thus represent something like a pair of scales) — then here 
(on the right) is something very large, like a saucepan — it 
is nearly full, but not quite — it is black : and that means 
trouble. And on this side (the left) there are flowers ; and 
books — and long shining — cloaks I think they are." [Rai- 
ment ?] " Yes, — raiment ; and all bright and beautiful 
things. And there will be as much here as there : but not 
quite j — for there is so much there. But there will at last 
be enough here to balance it, and this old lady's work is to 
help to make that balance. When she has done that, she 
will be happy, and when she and others can get as much 
good for you as will make that balance on this side, she can 
rest, and then you will have rest." [Has that saucepan of 
trouble to be made quite full ? Is there more trouble coming?] 
" It must boil, but it can't hold any more." [In point of 
fact, then, have I got pretty well to the end ?] " There is 
just the difference of fulness in a quiet state outwardly, and 
fulness in a turbulent state, which will be harder to bear. 
But as a compensation, all dross will be purged away, or 
taken up, or given off in vapour, so that what remains after 
the boiling process is completed can be utilised in many 
happy ways for others. In fact, it is shewn that you do not 
need that this should pass through the boiling process 
except for purification — not for yourself, but for those who 
are to follow. In one sense it is a sacrifice, but it is of the 
nature, and is the same through which a mother passes, in 
giving birth to something better, brighter, and more beauti- 
ful — a something which adds a new link to life, and death, 
and all that is to come. . . . The old lady does not know 
what we say: she says, — Is that Miss Houghton ? — tell her 
The Lord walks on the face of the deep : His footstep even 
now approaches, and nothing can be hid : even now He 
waits for those who are to be gathered into His Kingdom, 
and those are called. Think not that His vision faileth, 
for all things are His : from the beginning He knoweth the 



262 EVENINGS AT HOME 

end thereof. Cast thy care upon Him, for He shall be thy 
strength and thy shield and thy comforter. — Even so, for 
He cometh quickly." She then gently awoke. 

How fully I did indeed learn to realise the boiling of that 
saucepan of trouble, and how much harder it truly was to 
bear when the external world had to know somewhat of my 
privations and trials, although even then there was of course 
much that none could know or guess : but in all my worst 
straits, in passing through a class of difficulties of which I 
had indeed heard, but could not have had any experience, 
I have never failed to feel that painful as it might be, it was 
only so that one could learn the fullest sympathy for others : 
and even thus I trust that the dross of self may have been 
in some degree purified. 

The whole spiritual atmosphere has been for these several 
years full of prophecies of woe and change, to which the 
date of 1 88 1 was given by that denominated Mother Ship- 
ton's. Whether hers or not is unimportant now that it is 
passing on, bringing much trouble in its train ; but I wish 
to refer to some that are not so definite. The Rev. Mr. 
Barrett thus wrote to me, May 17//2, 1877 : 

" My dear Miss Houghton, — I was glad to hear from 
you, and should be still more glad to see you. . . . Have 
your guides given you any intimation that tremendous 
changes are coming, or already upon us ? An uneducated 
clairvoyante, medium, or ecstatic, whichever is the right 
term, has told me that a divine air, or breath of God, is 
shortly coming, and already acting in the world, which will 
change everything, open spiritual vision, cause thousands of 
deaths, and bring living judgments. . . . She also describes 
what seems to answer to what Swedenborg would term a 
judgment in the spiritual world as now going on ; and as the 
places of suffering are cleared, and the persons there, raised, 
so are the judgments to come upon the earth. . . . The 
published accounts through such and such writers (whom he 
named) differ much. My authority is the Bible, and I test 
all theories and doctrines by that. But it is a comfort to 
me to be told that my time is now short, except that one 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 263 

does not know what short means, when used by beings who 
have been in existence thousands of years." . . . (His short 
lasted four years.) I wrote to tell him of the prophecies of 
the same character coming to me from so many quarters, as 
well as given to myself almost from the beginning of my 
mediumship ; but of which I have kept no written records. 
Tn his nnswpf hp s^ys : "What you tell me is curious, and 
all corresponds with what this clairvoyante has told me, 
and like you, she says that we shall see the departed walk- 
ing upon the earth, but not with the eyes of the body, but 
those of the soul." Later on, in answer to a request,Ji£. 
said : " I have no notes of revelations that any one could 
make out, but merely what might serve to refresh my own 
memory. They are barely legible, and mainly written in 
abridged Latin words, for the sake of conciseness, but they 
might help me if I had time to go over them. When I am 
able, I will try to put down some short analysis of them. 
They are by an uneducated person, who when in trance 
believes that she is employed by angels in preaching under 
their direction to spirits in suffering : — says many other 
trance subjects are thus employed. That it is not the work 
for spirits in Paradise, and that, until more progressed, the 
spirits can understand a lower person, like men, better than 
they could angels. After a certain amount of work, the 
angels and spirits in Paradise talk to her, and shew her the 
places there. They tell her that as these places of suffer- 
ing are cleared, the final judgments will come on the earth. 
They are nearly cleared. Before long, the spiritual vision 
of many will be opened to see and talk with the angels who 
are always with us. The angels don't know the day of Our 
Lord's coming, but they know from what is now being done 
above, it must near. Wickedness will increase terribly, 
also the good be better and more active ; vivisection among 
other iniquities will be put down by terrible judgments 
from God. An air is coming, and already is in the world, 
which will bring terrible heat : it is (as I understand) some 
emanation from the sun, and a modification of God's love, 
which is the source of heavenly heat; when the wicked 



264 EVENINGS AT HOME 

breathe it, it will destroy many in an instant. To the 
righteous it will open their eyes, give spiritual vision and 
great joy. . . . A new remedy for illness they have told 
jnej— I generally use mesmerised sugar for mesmerising 
patients, as it saves me, and prevents me from suffering 
from unhealthy emanations. I was ordered to place sugar 
for two hours in the sun for two days running, and then 
use it, and was told it would give strength to my body and 
open my spiritual vision. I have done it for about a fort- 
night, and I think I have derived much good from it, but 
it is to be done for about six weeks to produce much effect. 
Do you know anything about such a remedy ? They say 
it is a very strong one, stronger than mesmerism — and to 
be used cautiously. I put a little of this sugar in the hand 
of a clairvoyante when asleep — it took her to a new and 
beautiful place — and partly took away the use of the hand 
for two or three days. This was to shew me the effect 
of it." . . . 

" Directions for solarising the sugar. . . I find I had not 
made clear to you the use of the sugar. The solar power 
is distinct from, and not to be used with, mesmerism. I 
was told to put a pinch of it in the clairvoyante's hand, 
merely to shew that it had a strong power sui generis. It 
is to be white pounded loaf sugar, the finer the better. The 
least a person should take to do much good would be about 
three teaspoonfuls a day for about five or six weeks. The 
best way of taking it is at your meals in your food, tea, 
puddings, or whatever you like. The more a person takes 
the better. . . . When you have the opportunity of a fine 
sun, do a lot of it. Spread out as much as you can in the 
sun, on paper, plates, or what is convenient, for two or 
three hours. — Do this for two days : the same time each 
day, as the sun has different powers at different hours : i. e. 
if you put sugar in the sun from 1 1 to 2 on one day, don't 
put it out from 2 till 5 the next day, but from 11 to 2 or 
n to 1. — We keep it in the same things: finger-glasses I 
find convenient, and then cover them with silk in a drawer 
in the dark. Thus, when well charged, it would preserve 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 265 

its power for a month, but you might repeat it at times. . . 
As far as I can judge, I have found the sun sugar do 
good." 

The revelations thus given through this clairvoyante are 
exactly in accordance with wonderful visions that I have 
heard related by Colonel Andrew Jackson Rogers of the 
United States, with whom, during his residence in England, 
I had the pleasure of being very intimate. The opening of 
his spiritual vision came upon him seven or eight years ago 
(I do not remember the exact date) quite unexpectedly 
and unsought, and he remained in his normal state, while 
during a whole night he both saw and heard marvels beyond 
his conception. Prophecies as to individuals (some of 
whom he scarcely knew even by -name) were given, some of 
which prophecies have already been fulfilled, while some 
are still in the future, but the realization of a portion gives 
the probability that in due course it will be the same with 
the others. It was then foreshewn that a time was at hand 
when the surrounding spirits would be beheld by the 
mortals among whom they are ministering; but for the 
wicked the sight would be overpowering and many would 
fall down dead, stricken as it were in an instant, whereas 
for the upright and true the visible presences would become 
a source of strength. Many things were told to him which 
he was forbidden to reveal, but there were others that he 
might mention in confidence, and I believe that he wrote 
them all out very fully, so that in due time they may be 
given to the world. — It must have been a most marvellous 
night ! After that he had similar experiences at distant 
intervals, and during his visit to this country I think they 
were stronger than ever, but he was not allowed to acquaint 
us with the details, although there was always much of 
interest to communicate, and I look forward to his future 
return here, and the renewal of our pleasant intercourse. 

Mr. Joseph's visions had been more of the character of 
those communications referring to the clearing of the lower 
spheres of spirit life, and the help that has to be given to 
uplift the unhappy ones there, as being the most important 



266 EVENINGS AT HOME 

work that Spiritualists have to perform. During his years 
of illness and suffering, he seems to a great extent to have 
been labouring in this field, whether wittingly or unwit- 
tingly : and he had even, during his childhood, had visions 
of the same nature ; and I almost regret that I should not 
have written any of them down, for they contained a multi- 
tude of small lessons, but I have always been so very 
closely occupied in one way or another, that I have 
returned to what I was previously engaged upon as soon as 
he had left me. I subjoin an extract from one of his letters 
from Melbourne, fated June 2$th, 1877 : "About a month 
ago I visited a small watering-place near Melbourne, where 
I remained three weeks, and accidentally made the 
acquaintance of a small community of about 30 souls living 
together in perfect harmony under one roof, with a prophet 
at its head. (I mean the community.) They get their 
living by fishing, and the prophet, who of course is really 
a medium, but knows little or nothing of Spiritualism, was 
told by voice and vision some time ago of the approaching 
advent, which they await, and lead a very religious life with 
frequent prayers and explanations of Scripture, which the 
prophet inspirationally delivers. . . The seance with Mrs. 
T., of the ' saucepan of trouble,' interested me much. It 
appears indeed that the X m ust be passed before the crown 
is obtained. God knows how to deal with us, and I trust 
that your afflictions are nearly all passed. . . Sometimes I 
wonder how and when that great power will again descend 
upon me. From a vision I received a few days ago, I 
judge it will not be long. . . It is strange that lately the 
name and love for Jesus has been getting a strong hold of 
me ; I look upon Him now as a Father ; almost as a part 
of myself. — Once upon a time I should have laughed at the 
idea, yet now it seems to me quite natural." 

I had many intermediate letters, but one of about a twelve- 
month later contains further allusions to his changed views, 
so I will make a short extract, although I can only begin, 
as it were, in the middle, as the previous part was in reply 
to something I had written with respect to — to use his own 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 267 

term — "Jesus of Nazareth, in the fulness of time. Things 
have so come to pass with me that what was once the 
impossible and most improbable have either become verified 
facts or amongst the certainties of the future. . . . Mrs. 
Britten is lecturing here now, and is much liked : — indeed 
she is a marvel of eloquence and a fund of knowledge, and 
is doing, I believe, a great work in Spiritualism; but her 
guides have not the Highest truth; at least do not as yet 
preach it. And yet all she says is in a measure true, but 
she wants the Key that will reconcile her truths with the 
Bible truths — and it is so easy. In God's time it will be 
done. But she and others are laying the foundation for a 
grand superstructure, and believe me that it is under God : — 
although they preach not the full truth, yet on that founda- 
tion the X will stand — and they know it not — They are 
busy underground, and therefore in partial darkness, laying 
the stones for the glorious building ; the new dispensation, 
the new era, and the new kingdom which will shew forth 
in the brightest light of God's countenance — Therefore may 
God speed them. The reconciliation of these different 
forces and powers will come, and their wisdom though 
opposed to each other will be made manifest. — The Cross 
is in possession of the Highest knowledge : it is feed- 
ing the children, but it gives the food best adapted for 
the season, palate, stomach, and life of the creature to make 
a new spiritual constitution." 

About the latter end of the January of this year came 
the final break-up with poor Mr. Hudson, who felt that he 
had no remedy but to give up his studio, and go away to a 
small house where there were no photographic possibilities ; 
so that great gift was let to drop for want of the efficient 
human aid that ought to have sustained it. Of course 
cameras and such-like apparatus were sold, to enable him 
to hold life together in some degree, and he strove hard to 
obtain employment in any shape or form, but only occa- 
sional temporary fragments came, for in this age of struggles, 
he, with his infirm health, could have but little chance 
when even the young and active have to seek other lands 



268 EVENINGS AT HOME 

to earn their bread. But still he in some way lived on ; 
he had kept his printing frames and a portion of his 
negatives, so that he has occasionally had orders for photo- 
graphs that have brought him in a trifle : and I am happy 
to say that he has latterly received more substantial help, 
so that he is looking better in health than I have known 
him for years. 

With regard to myself, my friend's kind wish respecting 
the small monograms had been partly fulfilled, and I had 
received various commissions for them, and I must grate- 
fully add that for some of them my remuneration had gone 
a good deal beyond the limit of the original fee, and in one 
instance my heart was rejoiced by a cheque that helped me 
through a painful difficulty. The dear giver is now gone 
to where she will reap the full reward of her beneficence, 
and I learn that she is now by my side, sympathising with 
the tears that the recollection has drawn forth. Dear 
tender-hearted soul ! I little thought when last I saw her 
that she would so soon be taken hence. In some cases 
more than one commission would come from the same 
quarter, and one dear friend has had quite a collection of 
them done, many of them being of persons eminent in our 
own day ; and then, after enjoying them for a time at her 
own home, she has lent them to me back as specimens to 
shew to my visitors. But they were wonderfully various, 
each being in some degree illustrative of the individual 
represented. An exceedingly beautiful one was B. D., 
typical of the now deeply lamented Lord Beaconsfield ; 
and much as I had always admired his talents as a writer 
and as a statesman, I thus learned to realize them more 
fully, for I was much struck with having to use an especial 
colour in the course of the working that I have scarcely 
ever needed even in the larger monograms, for in these minia- 
ture ones only the predominating characteristics are given ; 
and the quality that had here to be expressed was what my 
teachers term " adjustingness of mind," by which they mean 
a mind that is capable of balancing the pros and cons of a 
question with such nicety, that it can find the true best to 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 269 

be acted upon under the most conflicting circumstances. 
Such a man was indeed a loss to the nation, and England 
might well mourn him. While doing personal drawings of 
any kind, the most wonderful insight is often given to me 
of the depths of the nature that is being portrayed, but in 
many cases that passes quite away from me after the picture 
is finished, unless at the time I should make some memor- 
andum, which I rarely do, for it is not desirable to be 
burthened with the specialities of other people, and I know 
that if required the reminiscence will be brought to me by 
those who have originally shewn it to me, and whose advice 
I always take as to whether I shall make any record. 
Among those I had the pleasure of delineating in 1877, 
were Mr. Berks Hutchinson, of the Cape, and his sweet 
wife. 

One of the battles fought with respect to our Association, 
especially by a portion of the ex-members, has been as to 
the numerical size of the Council, — and in deference to 
some of the opinions, it was reduced a year or two ago, but 
not to the absurd extent that had absolutely been suggested. 
For my own part I hold with making it as large as can 
reasonably be done : for in any way, there will be but a 
certain few who will really attend the meetings or do the 
work, and I should like to see in the published list the 
names of Spiritualists in all parts of the kingdom, so that 
in whatever town travellers might find themselves, they 
might know where to seek for information on our subject 
as soon as their interest in it was awakened. An incident 
that occurred to myself has given strength and substance to 
the idea. Some years ago, just as I was finishing dinner, 
a lady called, saying that I should not know her name, but 
would I kindly see her for a little while ? So she was walked 
up to the drawing-room, whither I immediately followed 
her. She then told me that she had quite recently lost her 
husband, under very painful circumstances ; and she had 
been told that through Spiritualism she might obtain some 
comfort. — But — she knew no Spiritualists, nor where to seek 
for them : however, she had also heard there were news- 



270 EVENINGS AT HOME 

papers connected with the movement, so she enquired for 
one of those, and bought a number of the Spiritualist^ which 
in those days contained our advertisement including the 
list of the members of the Council with their several 
addresses ; among which she found my name and abode 
within an easy distance of her own home, so she thought 
she would venture to call upon me, trusting that I would 
pardon the intrusion. I was heartily thankful to be able 
to give her all the information she sought, and she did 
indeed find comfort therein, and has since become a stead- 
fast Spiritualist. I do not mention her name, although I 
know she would be quite willing that I should do so ; but 
I only speak of it as a proof of the advantage granted to 
outside seekers by such a clear evidence of our willingness 
to enlighten them, shewn by the publication of our names 
and whereabouts. 

What a gratification it would be if we could make the 
acquaintance of all our foreign adherents whose names 
are conjoined with ours ; this pleasure was granted to us in 
the course of one short visit to London made by the Baron 
and Baroness Von Vay ; and although it was in the empty 
season of the year, August, we mustered a tolerably fair 
gathering in Great Russell Street for their reception, when 
they gave us a hope that at some future time they might 
make a longer stay in England, and thus give us fuller 
opportunity for intercourse ; in which there would be no 
lingual difficulty, as the Baroness speaks English very well ; 
although her husband was not quite so fluent in it. Since 
that time we have occasionally had glimpses of some of our 
foreign members, but we should like more. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 271 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Just about that time a friend, whose life is devoted to 
establishing the fact of our identification with the Israelites, 
told me of a work by Piazzi Smyth, the Astronomer-Royal 
of Scotland, entitled " Our Inheritance in the Great 
Pyramid," as containing the prophetic proofs, by accurate 
measurement, that some great change was to take place in 
188 1, and I at once had the book from Mudie's, and read 
it through with deep interest in all the details there given 
as to our own weights and measures, but was disappointed 
not to find the special information I was seeking, which I 
then learned had only been published in the second edition, 
not possessed by Mudie. I then heard of a pamphlet 
referring principally to the one point under consideration ; 
" Philitis," by Charles Casey (published originally only in 
Dublin, but now to be had of Hamilton, Adams, & Co., 
price 2/.), and that I did succeed in borrowing. One may 
well marvel at the mysterious system within which such 
great truths were enwrapped, only to be elucidated in the 
"fulness of time" by one who should fully realize that the 
wonders of creation could only be the product of One 
Complete Mind, with whom every small detail is as need- 
ful in forming the Whole as what we may consider the large 
ones. I must here limit myself to the one subject, and as 
I have lately been fortunate enough to have the brochure 
presented to me, I am able to make extracts from itself, 
instead of clothing the ideas in my own imperfect words ; 
I will do so as briefly as I can, but I would advise all those 
who feel an interest in such vital truths to study the small 
book for themselves. 

" The pyramid . . presented from the hand of the builder 
a solid-mass surface without any visible opening, and . . 
about 3000 years after its creation, the Arab, Caliph Al 
Mamoon, broke in an entrance on the north side with the 



272 EVENINGS AT HOME 

hope of discovering the vast treasures which tradition had 
said were concealed in its chambers. The result of his 
labour was the discovery of the true passages and the 
chambers to which they led, but no such treasures as he 
hoped for. ... It may be thought that this is not the 
place to allude to the ethical readings of the pyramid. . . . 
yet I may be permitted to hint at some results which have 
been communicated to me in advance by a devout and 
eminent thinker, as they are of such a nature as to pro- 
foundly interest all believers in Revelation. 

"The descending passage is typical of that dispensation 
after the dispersion, in which men descended to the depths 
and abomination of idolatry; when, following their own 
inventions, and rejecting patriarchal worship and revelation 
of the true God, they pursued a course which could only 
end in the bottomless pit (exhibited in the pyramid by a 
deep subterranean chamber without any finished flooring). 

" But the foreseeing mercy of God commenced a mode 
of salvation to man, first by separating a peculiar people, 
under Moses, unto Himself, from the rest of mankind, at a 
particular date — a peculiar people, through whom was 
introduced, in the fulness of time— i.e., a particular date, 
the Saviour Christ, and the Christian dispensation. This 
first separation of the peculiar people, without at the same 
time interfering with the sinful course of the rest of man- 
kind, is typified by the first ascending passage, actually 
leaving the course of the descending passage, which still 
goes on descending as before to the bottomless pit. 

" The first ascending passage, moreover, or the Hebrew 
dispensation, having begun an ascent, continues to ascend 
for a period equal to that from Moses to Christ, and then 
merges suddenly into the still ascending but incomparably 
more capacious and more solemnly constructed 'grand 
gallery,' typifying the Christian dispensation of the First 
Coming, as at present, and for the last 1872 (the date of 
that portion of the book) years, in existence. 

..." Let us take the pyramid's unit of measure in our 
hand, and faithfully reading off Philitis's work, we shall find 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 273 

that he has foreshewn accurately, as 985 years, that part of 
the first dispensation — from the dispersion to Moses — in an 
inch to a year, on the length of the floor of descending 
passage, from its beginning to the point of its intersection 
by the floor of the first ascending passage (produced). And 
following up this good man's work, we still further find 
the Hebrew dispensation of 1542 years given precisely, on 
floor of first ascending passage, in an inch to a year, while 
still more upward, in the grand gallery, the present Chris- 
tian dispensation is recorded as intended to contain 188 1-2 
years, on the same scale. 

. . . " But there is another date of a totally different 
kind which may be appealed to, and this is the pyramid's 
own memorial date of foundation, as recently computed by 
modern stellar astronomy and the existing calendar, and 
thence found to be 2170 years before the acknowledged 
birth of Christ. . . . The date will be evidently . . inside 
the mouth of the slanting entrance passage ; and there, 
remarkably enough, in a structure usually supposed to be 
without any markings, and certainly without any written 
language, or sculpture, the usually rectangular joints of the 
great stones forming the inclined, sloping walls are made 
vertical or nearly so, in two successive instances, and in no 
other throughout the whole passage. These two, however, 
are only to arrest attention ... so the two strikingly visible 
vertical separations of continuity in the walls are followed 
by a thin, fine, but exquisitely true line, ruled at six inches 
behind the last of these separations, and in that line — 
evidently the work of a master-hand, and of that period — 
is contained the position answering to 2170 B.C., or indicat- 
ing that, after the drawing of that line, 2170 years were to 
elapse before the Redeemer of mankind should appear. . . . 
It is a very glorious revelation, and test of divine guidance 
in a prophetic structure, inspired in the cause of the true 
God and the mystery of His purpose respecting the human 
race. 

" But that is not all, for on entering the grand gallery 
we come upon a square sepulchral aperture, partly in its 

s 



274 EVENINGS AT HOME 

floor, from the bottom of which a passage leads westerly 
for a short space to the edge of a dark, almost perpendi- 
cular, abyssmal shaft, which leads down, down, down, into 
the deep and dismal subterranean descending passage, just 
before it falls into the Hades chamber or pit, which lies 
some 1 80 feet down in the living rock. Now, at an inch 
to a year along the line of the floor of the grand gallery, 
this sepulchral chamber shews the date of Calvary in our 
Lord's life. The inhumation of His body in the tomb and 
His resurrection therefrom are exhibited (in the stone that 
covered the entrance to that sepulchral well being burst 
out or rolled back with triumphant power from its mouth) 
in mechanical features, which speak as incontestably 
to the eye of science as eloquently as to that of faith — 
that the grave could not detain Him beyond the appointed 
time. 

"Thus and here we have the death, burial, and resurrec- 
tion of the Messiah shewn. 

". . . To those who believe in the divinely-inspired character 
of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, it will be refreshing 
to know that here, in this pillar of witness, seven hundred 
years before Moses wrote the Pentateuch, did Philitis record, 
not in written characters that might or could be defaced or 
mistranslated, but in metric characters, fixed and unchange- 
able as the earth's axis, the three notable dispensations of 
our race — viz., that from the dispersion at Babel to Moses, 
the Hebrew dispensation, and the Christian dispensation, 
foretelling to a year the date of the birth of the Messiah." 

My extracts have extended to greater length than I had 
contemplated, but I could not have omitted anything that I 
have given without weakening their force, and they seem to 
me of inestimable value, most especially when the actual 
year of 1881 is on its journey towards becoming a date of 
. the past, and people will perhaps exclaim — Well ? and 
what has it brought in its train ? — Yet even the most unob- 
servant may have noticed that in many respects it has 
differed from the generality of years. But that is all 
unnecessary to prove that it may define an epoch. One 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 275 

version of Mother Shipton's prophecy, copied I believe from 
a book of ancient date, was worded — 

" And finally the end shall come 
In eighteen hundred eighty one." 

No modern prediction that has come to my knowledge, has 
in arty way foretold destruction (unless of the wicked), but 
renovation — The opening of a new dispensation, not the 
closing up of a previous one, any more than took place at 
the birth of Our Lord. We must bear in mind the history 
of the inauguration of that great change. Who among the 
wise and great knew aught of that humble birth in an over- 
crowded inn that was eventually to revolutionise the world ? 
A few shepherds tending their flocks heard the angelic host 
proclaim the wondrous power thus shed upon the earth, but 
imagine a similar knot of uneducated men in this our day, 
walking into this City of London with the announcement of 
a parallel marvel ! ! who would heed them ? They would 
be scoffed and jeered at ! — Revelations do come — the voices 
of the angels are heard, — and the air is burthened with the 
whispers of the unseen throng who are telling of change : — 
but that change may come with tread as soft as the previous 
one, and a hundred years may pass away before it becomes 
clear to the human intelligence in the aggregate, that rS8i 
has in truth been the entrance upon a new era, belonging to, 
not separated from, the previous ones. 

In now looking again over the earlier portion of the 
pamphlet for a something that I thought was there, I have 
come upon a mystery which I believe forms a kind of pro- 
phecy for these present times. After ascending the grand 
gallery, the first level floor is attained, which is that of what 
is called the Queen's chamber, which must be the beginning 
of the era upon which we are now entering, and here I will 
again quote from its interesting pages. 

" Mr. Waynman Dixon also has had the honour of 
making a discovery in this chamber which is mysteriously 
inexplicable, viz., the existence of two channels seemingly 



276 EVENINGS AT HOME 

similar in design to the air channels of the King's chamber, 
but which were evidently not meant by the architect for 
ventilating purposes, because they are hermetically sealed 
up by the inner or chamber-lining stone, giving no indica- 
tion of their existence, until broken into by cold chisel and 
hammer, when it was found that they reached some seven 
feet into the wall horizontally, then rose N. and S. at an 
angle of 32 , and likewise that they were cut through the 
chamber-lining block in its entire thickness, save the thin 
tympanum which was left to conceal their existence on the 
inner surface. The question, then, is — As they were not 
meant for ventilating channels, what was their use ? It 
strikes me that they were meant for acoustic purposes, as the 
slight covering slab would serve as the veritable tympanum 
of an ear that led — where ? — possibly, probably, almost 
certainly, to another yet undiscovered chamber, . . an idea 
supported by the fact mentioned by Mr. Dixon, that although 
the smoke of a fire lighted in the southern passage went 
away, its exit was not discoverable on the outside of the 
pyramid. And when we reflect that a slight tap, given on 
the stone tympanum by a small metallic or other hard 
substance, would be faithfully transmitted through the 
length of the channel to its exit — the conclusion seems 
reasonable that those passages had an acoustic use, and 
were not meant for ventilating purposes." — Now, how do I 
read it ? As an evidence of the communion now opened 
with invisible agencies, whose slightest tap may beat in 
harmony with those who have ascended so far that they 
may almost be said to place their feet on level ground. 

In one of my letters to the Rev. Mr. Barrett on the 
subject of the 1881 prophecies, I mentioned Professor 
Smyth's work, which I thought would interest him exceed- 
ingly, and also " Philitis," but he did not allude to them in 
his answer, as he was shortly coming up to town, and upon 
his visit he surprised me by the information that he had 
absolutely] been with Professor Smyth and his intrepid 
wife during a considerable part of their arduous labours at 
the pyramid, of course assisting them in the various 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 277 

measurements. And it was he who told me (what I 
thought I had also seen in the book) that the ascending 
gallery had been formed of one class of stone, limestone I 
think, but that you then come upon the harder and closer 
material of granite ; and he considered that as a fact full 
of significance, although he did not attempt any solution 
thereof. 

A soiree was held at the Cavendish Rooms on the 17th 
of October, for the benefit of Mr. Morse, which was very 
well attended. It is always my custom on such occasions 
to wander about as much as I can, between the parts, so as 
to have if possible a few words with all my friends : thus in 
the course of my peregrinations I had a bit of talk with 
Mr. Towns, who said he had seen a spirit near me while I 
was sitting down, who was still by my side, whose name 
was Samuel ; and he proceeded to describe him as having 
a fine presence, and wearing an ancient costume, so that 
he seemed to him to be one of the Biblical personages ; in 
fact, the Samuel of the Bible : — had I ever had any com- 
munion with him ? Oh yes ! from an early part of my 
mediumship. He went on to say that he had a new design 
for me, at least it was a drawing ; and that he was either 
working upon it, or he would be present while it was being 
done. As he commenced a description of what he appeared 
to be seeing, I recognised that it must be the Shield, No 5, 
which is now in progress. He saw towers and towers as 
it were endless, with light streaming through, which must 
apparently emanate from a glorious Sun within it, whose 
rays should pierce through everything ; but that, beautiful 
as it has been all through the work, the finishing will sur- 
prise me by its especial glory. He had a vision of sparklings 
far beyond those of diamonds, as if showering down the 
front. I told him I thought it was almost finished, and 
that there had been an unexpected change ; but he was of 
opinion that there was still a surprise in store for me before 
it should be quite completed. 

The picture, as it has been worked, has seemed to be 
formed of many substantial columns, making vistas of 



278 EVENINGS AT HOME 

arches, while ever and anon, there have been what I term 
" water-works " forming as it were in the background a 
grand centre shield (sometimes threefold), which has always 
brought to my mind the text, " For The Lord God is a Sun 
and a Shield," and the drawing throughout has had a kind 
of golden glow, which is still more apparent in its present 
state. It has already had an immense amount of work on 
it, but it may be that there is a great deal yet to come. 

I was introduced on that evening to Miss Mancell, a 
normal clairvoyante, who has been developed about a year; 
and she came to see me on the following Wednesday, but, 
as she arrived rather late in the afternoon, the fading light 
would not admit of my shewing her much, so after letting 
her have a cursory glance at the One upon which I am 
engaged, I deposited it on a chair, to make place on the 
easel for another, with which she was much struck, but 
presently she said she saw a beautiful spirit form passing 
round and round the unfinished picture. I now seated 
myself on the low chair near her, when she turned towards 
me, and almost immediately said ; " I see the face of Jesus 
above you, with a wonderful glory all round Him. . . . 
Now I see Faith as she is represented in old pictures, with 
a cross in her hand as if for a staff." She then saw an 
elderly lady bending tenderly over me, describing Mamma 
very clearly, and two or three other spirits. "Oh! I see a 
glorious sun, with wonderful rays above your head, so bright 
I can scarcely look at it; and now there is a shield ! what 
can that mean ? a sun and a shield ? " I answered that I 
understood the meaning, for that it referred to the drawing 
on the chair, the one I am now doing. 

She had a wonderful succession of visions : they were 
mostly fragmentary ; but as a curious phase of mediumship, 
I will note the larger proportion of them, which I had to 
write down as fast as I could. . . Several lights and stars, 
and one very brilliant star just over my head, then streams 
of coloured light pouring down upon me, blue, scarlet, and 
golden. She then saw my two dear little sisters, one hold- 
ing a lily in her hand, which she was placing on my head ; 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 279 

then that lily became the centre flower of a garland with 
which the two were crowning me. Then she saw spirits with 
wheat ears, some of which were formed into a sort of tiara 
on my head, with small clusters behind my ears, while a 
horn of plenty was showered over me. . . King David, with 
a golden crown on his head and a harp in his hand. . . 
" Now there is a ship in full sail upon beautiful clear blue 
water." [Can they shew you what that means ?] " Jesus is 
guiding the helm. . . Now there is a dove descending over 
your head. . That lady whom you recognised as your 
Mamma is standing behind you, holding a lovely crimson 
rose, and I see written up, — ' Go on, my dear child, go on 
in the good work.' . . Now there is a beautiful church, and 
in front of it a magnificent white throne, on which sits One 
surpassing fair, Who looks like Jesus, and they are all 
bowing down before Him, a concourse of beautiful angels. 
. . A very aged gentleman with very white hair, leaning on 
a staff, a pilgrim he looks like, — he has a great deal of hair, 
and a very long heavy beard : he wears sandals and a long 
robe." [Will he give his name ?] " ' Never mind my 
name,' is written up, ' The Lord is my Shepherd. — Cast thy 
bread upon the waters and thou shalt find it after many 
days.' . . . You are surrounded with doves, they are all 
round your head. . . Now a circle of stars is coming down 
on your hair, like an ornament with a large one in the 
centre. . . There's an angel blowing a horn, and it is 
written up — ' Oh ! lady pure and gentle, your trials have 
been many and great, but in the end you will come off 
victorious.' . . A beautiful little boy, he has got a lamp in 
his hand, and oh ! such a bright light. . . A beautiful 
angel with a pencil or paint-brush in his hand, and there is 
an easel and a lady sitting at it — oh ! it is you I he has on 
an azure robe and a golden girdle, and he is guiding your 
hand ; and now there is the Sun and the Shield round you." 
Just as she was finishing this sentence, Mr. W. came in, 
but he seated himself quietly by my side, and the seance 
continued : " An elderly gentleman who looks like a 
lawyer ; he has a paper in his hand, with three or four 



280 EVENINGS AT HOME 

rows of red sealing-wax on it : he is counting some money ; 
pieces of gold. He went to a desk and took out some 
money : and he is holding a pen towards you for you to 
sign something. You are shewing him a picture, and he 
seems to be admiring it very much ; he is putting some 
money in your hand, and you are signing something in a 
book : — you are shaking hands with him : he has taken off 
his — oh ! it has all vanished now. . . . There's a large 
place; it looks like some place of entertainment; there's a 
large table, and they are all sitting round it : — oh ! they are 
sitting in seance, and you are with them, in darkness ; there 
are some very beautiful birds, like canaries, they are being 
presented to you by an elderly lady; there is GUP over 
your head." I told her it was a vision of a seance that had 
taken place (at Mrs. Guppy's, as already narrated) ; and 
then she had another, also of a past event ; then a series of 
short fragmentary pictures. " There's a beautiful white 
Cross. — There's a beautiful Dove, and it says — ' I come from 
the Holy Land.' . . There are two men bringing a large 
chest, oh ! it's so heavy : one man is kneeling down and 
taking out some old musty-looking parchment : it does 
look so old and dusty this parchment they are bringing out, 
as if it had been there hundreds of years : — it says, • On this 
schedule ' — They have shut down the lid now, have shut it 
in." 

I now suggested that she should have a seance with Mr. 
W., and a great deal came for him, containing various tests, 
and I gave him the paper on which I had scribbled it all 
down. 

Miss Mancell was at that time in very great straits, 
but I was able to recommend several visitors to her for 
seances, and I also had her here on another occasion, with 
Mr. W. and his daughter, who received some remarkable 
tests, and I had plenty of writing to do. A good deal had 
come for me before their arrival, as well as fragments after- 
wards, but I will only give a few short extracts. 

" Such a bright light came down from near you just 
while you were saying The Lord's Prayer. . . There's an 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 251 

elderly lady just by your feet with very white teeth ; her 
hair is rather dark, and done with combs in an old-fashioned 
way : she is either kneeling or sitting on the ground." I 
believe her to have been Mrs. P. . . " There's the Sun and 
Shield again." [Can you describe them ?] "The Sun has 
bright rays, and there's a hand holding the Shield out, as if 
something were coming against it : the hand and arm seem 
passed through the back of the Shield to hold it out. . . . 
Now there's a very high ladder reaching up, oh ! so high ! 
it's such a wonderful ladder, all gold, you are climbing up 
it, and now you've got to the very top : — there's an angel 
crowning you with a gold crown, the angel was by the top : — 
and now you have vanished above it. It was a gold crown, 
and you looked somehow changed, you looked quite trans- 
lated ; I never saw anything so wonderful." 

Later on, I was able to assist her to a comfortable home, so 
that she does not now exercise any professional mediumship. 

Mrs. T. came to see me on Friday, January 25th, 1878, 
and of course my first thought was to shew her "The 
Shield," No. 5, which had been so lately finished, and to 
read her the memoranda I had made on the subject, a sort 
of compilation of what I have already narrated, with this 
addition : " The picture, as I look back in my mind to its 
commencement, seemed at first as if it might be the interior 
of a strong castle, with a surrounding wall of full rich 
crimson, giving one the idea of a bulwark of mighty power 
that nothing could penetrate ; of which the gateway was a 
cerulean arch, type of The Lord Jesus. Then were designed 
many substantial columns, making vistas of arches, as of a 
tower of strength, terminating finally with a grand archway 
spanning the whole, that was sprinkled over with myriads 
of sparkling globules of light." She was much struck with 
its beauty and profundity, and she said it seemed to give 
her so much the idea of creation, as if that were what was 
signified by it, — after a time adding ; — " The words come 
to me — ' I will create a new heaven and a new earth ; ' that 
is a text, is it not ? " "Oh! yes." So I sought the texts, 
Isaiah lxv. 17, 18, and lxvi. 22, 23. 



282 EVENINGS AT HOME 

She had not purposed coming to me when she left home, 
having had to go into town, where she had found much 
excitement and commotion, in consequence of Lord 
Beaconsfield having declared his war policy; and she then 
felt that she must come and talk it over with me, especially 
as she had passed a singularly uncomfortable night ; each 
time she had slept undergoing acute pains, which she had 
felt were symptomatic of fresh trouble coming forth to the 
world. That the pains were a spiritual sign was evident by 
their ceasing whenever she fully awoke. Also, several times 
in her sleep she wept and sobbed, so that Mr. T. aroused 
her, but she had seemed overwhelmed with pity for some 
upon whom heavy trials were coming : but she had not 
realized the political source until her visit to the City, not 
having looked at the papers before leaving home. All this 
talk led us to revert to the prophecies given and spoken of 
when she had been looking at the previous " l^hield. " I 
was then impressed to hand her the Bible, which with much 
solemnity was opened at Isaiah v. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. When 
she had finished reading; my hand was pointed towards 
the picture, and through me was strongly said : — " But, I 
have builded a Tower wherein the righteous shall find 
refuge." 

She said that the allusion to the "tower" in the 2nd 
verse had struck her very much while reading it, as refer- 
ring to the drawing. I was then influenced to seek a text, 
and it was opened at Isaiah ix. 8, 9, 10, n, 12, 13, 14, 15, 
16 : and when I had read those denunciations against pride 
and self-sufficiency in the nation, Mrs. T. again took the 
Bible in her hand, but instead of being led to a text, she 
passed under influence, and said, " Blessed are they who 
have reached the fulness of time in which they may rest 
from their labours, but woe unto many in these coming days. 
The Lord is a tower of strength to those who trust in Him 
and who keep His commandments, but the wicked shall 
perish from the face of the earth, and for the righteous a 
new heaven and a new earth shall be created wherein shall 
dwell righteousness. Even now the seed is planted : — it 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 28$ 

shall grow, it shall increase by night and by day, nurtured 
by the will of The Lord, until it become a habitation for 
the faithful ; in it they shall dwell, and no harm shall come 
nigh them." For some little time she spoke not, still 
remaining deeply entranced, while I cogitated as to whether 
I could put any personal question, although feeling that I 
was to do so, when she turned fully towards me, and said : 
— " Ask, thou faithful one, if thou wilt, and I will answer." 
[May I ask of earthly hopes ?] " According as thy day 
is, so thy strength shall be." [Thanks be to The Lord, 
but matters press upon me.] " No sparrow falleth to 
the ground, neither shall any hurt come to thee. — 
Wouldst thou choose to come within the veil, and be 
for ever sheltered from earthly cares, or wilt thou still 
strive— wilt thou still strive to live thy appointed time ? 
Thou mayest choose, for life and death are within the hands 
of The Lord, and I am bidden to say thou mayst choose." 
[Dear Lord, I choose to do Thy work, in the path Thou 
hast appointed unto me, I seek not to quit it.] " Thou 
hast chosen well. — Nevertheless, as I see that the thorns 
press sometimes heavily on thy brow, if the pressure become 
too great, it shall be lightened before it become unbear- 
able." She was silent for a time, and when she again 
spoke, yet more comforting assurances were given me. . . . 
" Thou hast been faithful over the things committed to 
thee . . . thou hast not buried thy talents, and when The 
Lord comes, thou shalt receive thine own with usury. No 
promise is forgotten, though the fulfilment may be long 
delayed." She now stood up, and said with great tender- 
ness, " And now, may the grace of Our Father, and of The 
Lord Jesus Christ, and of His Holy Spirit, rest upon you 
and be with you for ever. Amen." — She now gently awoke, 
and wondered to find she had been speaking. I mesmer- 
ised her a little, and she said how much good it had done 
her to come : all the weight and oppression had entirely 
left her. Seeing I placed my hand to my forehead, she 
asked if I felt anything, for she saw the symbolic flames : 
and I really had thought that my hand might be sensible 



284 EVENINGS AT HOME 

of the glow. I read to her all that had passed, and while 
doing so, it was imbreathed to me that Isaiah had been the 
communicating agent. She was deeply touched with that 
part that had given me the choice of escape from my 
earthly tribulations. 

I am to copy from my book of interpretations the open- 
ing piece referring to the picture of " The Shield " with 
which we commenced the above seance. 

This drawing was finished on the 31st of December 1877, 
the anniversary upon which I completed the eighteenth year 
of my mediumship, and I have now been calculating the 
time that has been bestowed upon the work, for there have 
been intermediate (bespoken) drawings, so that it has been 
necessary to go with great accuracy through the various 
dates, as I strongly feel that this has been the most impor- 
tant work of which I have been permitted to be the mortal 
agent. It has closely occupied me for 32 weeks, and 
during the last fortnight the work was at the most intensely 
high pressure I have ever felt. It seemed as if I had 
scarcely time to draw breath. I had long had an impres- 
sion that it was to be finished by some specific date (but as 
it had been begun on the 3rd of July 1876, many anniver- 
saries of one kind or another had passed on unnoted), thus 
I sometimes realized that when commissions did not come 
to me that it was for the purpose of continuing this draw- 
ing, which finally was thus manifested to me, for in the 
middle of December I received orders for three small 
monograms, which were not allowed to be commenced 
until after the completion of this especial drawing : by 
which means it was so arranged that on the New Year's 
Day of 1878, I began a fresh picture without having a 
single unfinished one on hand, which has never been the 
case since my hand has been guided by my invisible friends 
— I mean with reference to beginning a new year without 
any incompleted drawing, for I used generally to prefer 
having two or three in hand, to work at in different stages 
according to the amount of daylight. So far it seems also 
as if that had been the concluding work of that character, 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 285 

for I have not since then commenced any of those sym- 
bolical representations, although it may yet prove that this 
has only been another interregnum in my artistic labours. 

On that New Year's Day I went to an afternoon seance 
at Mrs. Guppy-Volckman's ; but it was not for the exer- 
cise of her own mediumship, for she had long been very 
seriously invalided, partly the result of rheumatic fever, 
when her life had been almost despaired of, and nothing 
but the tenderest and most devoted nursing could have 
restored her to her friends. Although then to a certain 
extent convalescent, her system had nothing to spare of 
superfluous aura, so that her powers were completely in 
abeyance as far as regarded manifestations in circle, but 
she is always generously liberal-hearted, so she often en- 
gaged professional mediums ; to satisfy the prejudices of 
those persons who prefer seances at other persons' houses 
rather than their own. There was rather a large circle, Mr. 
Williams as the medium, and the manifestations were of 
the usual class : — the direct voices, and the shadowy 
glimpses of two of the spirits, Peter and a female, but they 
could not appear with much distinctness. I must confess 
that I prefer a more select circle : I do not mean as to 
worldly position, for in that respect it was composed of 
rather the elite, but I mean as being more spiritually 
minded, for the larger proportion of those present only 
seemed to look upon it as a variation in their usual 
course of worldly dissipation, without any higher thought 
whatever, and I really should not have felt surprised to 
have heard any of those very mundane enquiries pro- 
pounded that one hears suggested by outsiders whose minds 
do not rise above the level of the stock exchange and the 
race-course. A lady sat near me whose first experience 
it was of a spirit circle, and the flippant style of the chief 
part of the converse with the gone-beyond ones rather 
shocked her, but I assured her that most of those present 
were not to be termed Spiritualists or even enquirers, so 
that she must not let it deter her from seeking more deeply 
into this grandest of all subjects. Mrs. Volckman knew it 



2 86 EVENINGS AT HOME 

was not the class of seance I affected, but she kindly 
invited me as being so close to the day we used formerly 
always to commemorate, and I did of course have the signals 
of my own special friends who were around me; and I also 
believe that even in such a seance as that, there are benefits 
accruing both to the spirits and the mortals; so that I 
would not have them utterly set aside, for I am certain 
that all things will eventually be worked in to fulfil God's 
purposes. 

On the 7th of March I accompanied Mrs. T. to the 
meeting of the Psychological Society, established chiefly by 
the energy of Serjeant Cox, who was their very efficient 
President. He read a long letter published in (I think) 
New Zealand, telling of some very extraordinary manifesta- 
tions, which, although not called Spiritualism, could not 
really be placed in any other category. After the meeting 
was over, I had a few genial words from him, and laugh- 
ingly enquired how " psychic force " was to account for all 
that ? I wish I could recollect the exact words of his 
answer, for I know it was to the effect that that theory was 
only as a name to satisfy the prejudices of the world in 
general, who might be willing to accept even of Truth, if 
it should come to them under a veil. 

Mr. Enmore Jones is always striving to stir the somewhat 
stagnant and sluggish elements that constitute a large pro- 
portion of humanity, he volunteering his own efforts without 
calling upon others to contribute pecuniary aid, and he now 
took Grafton Hall for the evening of April 17th in com- 
memoration of the thirtieth anniversary of Modern Spiri- 
tualism; the proper date being of course March 31st, but 
other exigencies had to be taken into consideration as to 
what night it could be held. He warmly invited all persons, 
whether believers or sceptics, to be present, and advertised 
the meeting largely beforehand, with the information that 
several good speakers had promised to deliver certain 
addresses on the subjects assigned them. The admission 
was to be quite free, the only difference would be that the 
Spiritualists were to occupy the body of the hall, while the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 287 

others were to go up to the gallery. Unfortunately it 
proved a dreadfully wet evening, with a seriously heavy 
thunder-storm : — but black as it looked, I would not be 
deterred, and hurried through my dinner so as to get there 
before the worst should come on, and in that I succeeded 
— but — the doors of Grafton Hall were closed to me, as I 
was so much in anticipation of the appointed time : how- 
ever, I took the opportunity of calling (at two or three 
doors off) upon Mrs. Welton, the clairvoyante, whom I had 
not seen for some years, and who was very glad of the 
friendly chat ; and I had just reached that refuge when 
the stormy downpour came ; but there was fortunately a 
little intermission when the proper time had arrived for me 
to adjourn to the Hall, to which she promised presently to 
follow. Mr. Jones greeted me most cordially ; and he was 
still very busy with the decorating department, having 
brought the chief part of his own treasures in the shape of 
Spirit drawings, photographs, &c. &c, as well as a nice col- 
lection of flowers, which were ranged along the front of the 
platform. He told me that Mr. and Mrs. Jencken (formerly 
Kate Fox), with the two children, were to be there, and 
also the other sister (Margaret), Mrs. Kane, who were the 
two little girls through whom the original manifestations 
came, on the date now being commemorated ; and they all 
duly came, as well as the promised speakers. But alas ! 
the Hall was desperately empty, and yet, if the outside 
public could have realized the treat that was in store for 
them, the place would have been thronged to suffocation ; 
and it did get to look better, for the gallery public gradually 
crept down to join the ranks of the believers, so as to con- 
vince themselves that what they were hearing was a reality, 
and not a delusion of the senses. For that cluster of 
powerful mediums were seated together at the right-hand 
side front corner of the platform, Mr. and Mrs. Jencken 
each with a child on their knee, those children likewise 
being strong mediums. Scarcely had Mr. Jones commenced 
his first exordium, when rap, rap, rap, came with assenting 
force on the platform beneath their feet. Then the sounds 



288 EVENINGS AT HOME 

came from the other parts of the platform, every one on it 
being clearly in sight, and the feet on a most convenient 
level to the eyes of the beholding audience, so that even 
the most suspicious could watch every movement. The 
platform, too, is so arranged that it can be examined to the 
very back, and I was much amused by watching the move- 
ments of a lady whom I know to be an arrant sceptic, 
creeping round, and peering in every direction for some 
possible method of trickery, but alack ! for her peace of 
mind, for nothing fraudulent could she discover, and what 
conclusion she finally came to I know not — for the sounds 
were so strongly detonating, as well as discriminative, that 
they evinced both power and intelligence. All the party 
on the platform of course took the responsive raps of the 
spirits as a most natural thing, and beyond an occasional 
smile of amusement made no demonstration. But it was a 
kind of jubilee for the invisibles, and when Mr. Jencken 
himself did his ten minutes' talk, they gave an extra amount 
of applause. The two pots near the centre (in front) of 
the platform, were fine specimens of the Calla Ethiopica, — ■ 
known by the various names of the Lily of the Nile and 
White Arum ; and on several occasions, these flowers were 
seen to bow forwards, as if in assenting compliment, imme- 
diately resuming their upright position ; which was certainly 
a most wonderful manifestation, and I am half afraid I 
gave more attention to watching that phenomenon than 
hearkening to the discourse that called it forth. It was a 
pleasant evening, for each person understood the point 
upon which they had to speak, and I can but regret that 
there were not more listeners. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 289 



CHAPTER XX. 

On the 13th of May Mrs. T. wrote to me from St. 
Leonards : " I saw you some little while since in your 
drawing-room, which had been newly decorated, and some 
one said, ' This is The Lord's House.' Then I saw that 
the house had a new look everywhere inside, and some one 
spoke as before, saying, ' It has been done to further The 
Lord's work.' Is it possible that some fresh opening may 
be coming to you ? " When I was at the Albert Road soon 
after her return home, she asked if she had given me the 
date of her dream, when she had seen me in my renovated 
house, and she wished she had written it all out at the 
time, for that it had been so very vivid ; and while she was 
speaking the whole beauty of it seemed to come before her 
again — there had been a border of roses and lovely flowers 
most exquisitely painted all round the ceiling, and every part 
looked delicately perfect. I said that her letter had been 
dated May 13th, but she had not mentioned when she had 
had the vision. She pondered very deeply for some little 
time, saying that it had occurred very shortly after they 
went down to St. Leonards, — then she said, " Oh ! now I 
remember, — it was on the Saturday after Good Friday." 
" Then it was on my birthday, the 20th," I exclaimed. And 
so it had been, but she had scarcely realised dates at that 
time, for there had been so much to do and to think about, 
as her young son was on the eve of going away to New 
Zealand for the sake of his health, to be absent a twelve- 
month, and there were preparations to be made, as well as 
juvenile friends staying with the children, so that all her 
days had seemed to pass in a kind of maze. 

In the evening of that same day, June 18th, about half- 
past nine, she turned towards me in the midst of our con- 
versation, as if about to speak, but hesitated ; I then saw that 

T 



29O EVENINGS AT HOME 

she was gradually passing under influence ; fortunately I had 
some paper in my pocket, which I had been told to take, 
and which proved to be exactly the right quantity. She 
appeared to be earnestly noticing something, and said : — 
" A spirit kneeling, but poised in air ; her hair seems alive, 
and she says, ' I am this night appointed to be a messenger 
twixt her and thee?" [Who is it?] "She is called Mary, 
but that is not now her name; and in her hair is much 
strength, and it comes through nestling now against you : — 
it makes it alive ; it floats and doesn't rest ; it is alive, 
waving about, glistening with vitality ; and it is shewn me 
that by folding it in a mantle, to wrap it up carefully, she 
can carry it away, and give it to the other one called Mary, 
and Mary will receive it, and its use will be to lubricate the 
passage through which the spirit ascends from her mortal 
body : and the more strength, or life, or power she can 
receive from this source, the fewer will be the parting pangs : 
— and she is called ' Comforter,' the one who gives the mes- 
senger the strength." [Do you mean me, dear?] "Yes." 
[That is a new name for me, then.] "Let the name rest 
with thee, for thou hast earned it, so I am allowed to say. 
So, dear Comforter, if you feel a nestling cheek, and even 
this living hair, be not alarmed, for the messenger must 
come quite close to your life to get needed power, and 
from this hour the separation will begin." [Shall I write 
this to her sister?] "Nay — but keep the record." [May 
I know the full name of the messenger ?] " She is one who 
sinned, but she loved Her Lord." [Mary of Bethany?] -'Thou 
hast said . . . Wouldst thou that He should raise the sick 
one to this life again ? " [I would only His will, whatsoever 
that may be.] " Then the messenger will do her appointed 
work, and God's will be done on earth, even as in Heaven." 
She was silent for some little time, then made some move- 
ments, when again she spoke : " No, no, — that is not as 
it should be, let me shew you the way." She then gave 
clear and explicit directions how the invalid was to be mes- 
merised, so that I should write them to her husband, who 
used to do it for her every night, and she concluded thus, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 29 1 

" When the last contact takes place, on the soles of the feet, 
the operator should pray, mentally pray that The Lord may 
be pleased to release her from suffering, and if he can, — 
pray — ' O Lord, release my companion from her suffering 
body, and let her spirit go free.' 

" It is foreseen that he can not use this form, so you 
may give it to the strongest heart near her, and let it be 
repeated while the movement is made : he can not do it ; 
so then she will be helped, but the one who says the prayer 
must feel it in the very heart, that The Lord may be pleased 
to remove her from her body. And ye who have felt 
to pray that she might be spared suffering, must now pray 
that The Lord may be pleased to remove her from 
her suffering body, and so may His will be done." I 
was here influenced to make a few passes, and she again 
turned towards me, saying, " The messenger has already 
gone. . . . She can get this help and power through you 
which could not so well come directly from those in spirit 
life, but given through and conjoined with your own power, 
including the tie of relationship, an actual substance is im- 
parted, and she can be helped. Power as great could be 
brought to her independently of you, but it would not have 
affinity with her, therefore she could not be helped. So, 
dear heart, when next you despond, remember that your 
name is Comforter^ and may The Lord be with you and 
bless you." Here she quietly awoke, and was surprised to 
hear all that had passed. We had much interesting talk 
about it, especially with reference to the fact that the hair 
of Mary of Bethany, with which in mortal life she had 
wiped the feet of The Lord Jesus, should now be permitted 
to be an agent in giving aid to the suffering one. While 
still in conversation, I felt the symbolic glow on my brow, 
as did also Mrs. T., while a few words were given through 
me with great force : — " I am the resurrection and the life. 
He who believeth on Me shall never see death : — the death, 
yea, of the mortal body, but not the after-death of suffering 
anguish. — He who believeth in Me, not the vain belief of 
mere intellectual affirmation, but he who sheweth forth that 



292 EVENINGS AT HOME 

belief by treading to his utmost in My footsteps, and seek- 
ing to relieve his fellow-beings ; that only is a living belief, 
and they who carry it out are Mine even for evermore. 
Amen." 

In the course of our talk after the trance, Mrs. T. had 
asked me whether the monogram could be done of one who 
had very long ago passed away, and as the answer was in 
the affirmative, she said she would wish to have that on 
Mary of Bethany, and she felt that she was afterwards to 
have that of Lazarus. Not till the next day did I connect 
the opening words spoken through me with any thought of 
Lazarus ; for my fullest feeling as to them is in the funeral 
service, when they have ever touched my heart with a deep 
thrill of hope ; but I was reading the account to Miss Pery, 
who reminded me of the circumstance. 

I wrote (on June 23rd) to Mrs. T., telling her that each 
evening, at the hour we had had the communication, I had 
felt the nestling cheek and floating hair of Mary of Bethany 
— each time receiving also the symbolic glow : but that 
yesterday morning, from about eleven till twelve, I had 
felt it strongly and continually, and it has since come to me 
at frequent intervals. Her answer came to-night (25th), in 
which she says, " What you tell me of your experiences is 
very curious and interesting. I too have felt the hair, and 
I have been reminded by it that I must say the prayer for 
dissolution. It seems so strangely sad and yet so grand to 
feel as it were made to help a sister spirit throw off her 
bonds. I seem to be learning a good deal of death and 
what we call life during these last few days. For one thing, 
life and death exactly correspond, I am told, to day and 
night, and if we fully understand the latter, there will be 
for us no mystery in the former. It is such teaching for 
me, and quite out of my own thought." 

I saw the dear invalid on the evening of July 9th. She 
was then evidently near her end, and she passed away quite 
peacefully at six o'clock the next morning with only a sigh. 

I had the pleasure of fulfilling the commission for the two 
pictures spoken of, and as rather fuller explanations were 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 293 

given than was usual with those miniature productions, I 
will here transcribe them. I was much struck with the fact 
that in Mary's monogram nothing of the character of resting 
surface was represented : it seems to float, in like fashion 
as did the spirit herself in Mrs. TVs vision. 

Tiny monogram of Mary of Bethany. . . . We have 
represented the W somewhat in the same manner that we 
usually sketch the spirit homes in these small drawings, as 
Mary is always identified by the name of her dwelling-place, 
but we have defined no ground, poising the monogram as it 
were in air, its only stay and shelter being heavenly wings. 
— Predominating characteristics, as typified by the colours 
employed in the work. Gamboge, faith : violet carmine, 
religion : cobalt blue, truth : crimson lake, love : chrome 
No. 2, gratitude : dragon's blood, sympathy : smalt, strength 
of friendship : carmine, tenderness : cadmium, courage : 
Indian yellow, probity. — In working the colours, the first 
lines of cadmium were brought down from the point of 
Glory, shewing that courage could only come to her from 
the loving words of The Lord — S. Luke, vii. 48, 50. 
" And He said unto her — Thy sins are forgiven : . . . thy 
faith hath saved thee ; go in peace." 

L. Typifying in the Initial, the Crown gained by 
Lazarus. The letter was but small in the commencement 
of our work, expressing what had been formed during his 
first earth-life, but it was increased tenfold in the years 
granted to him after having been recalled to mortality by 
His Lord's loving words, " Lazarus, come forth," St. John 
xi. 43. 

The silver cord having been entirely severed, Lazarus, 
during the four days in the " beyond," was enabled to be 
taught the grandeur and the responsibilities of mortal life, 
and rejoiced in the opportunity to redeem the past, bearing 
everywhere the Standard of The Lord ; which we have 
symbolized as almost the ground-work of the letter, Isaiah 
lxii. 10, n : "Go through, go through the gates .... lift up 
a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath pro- 
claimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter 



294 EVENINGS AT HOME 

of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh ; behold, His reward 
is with Him, and His works before Him." It is unnecessary 
for me to enumerate the colours of which the typical letter 
was composed, but, with reference to smalt, signifying 
strength of friendship, allusion is made to its having been 
granted to him that The Lord should have spoken of him 
as " His friend." The new life bestowed upon him by that 
marvellous Friend had to be consecrated to Him and to 
His service with every fibre of that renovated existence, 
and he thenceforth became one of the most active but 
most unobtrusive of the followers of The Lord, a glance of 
Whose eye was sufficient to indicate to him the direction 
he was to pursue, and wheresoever there was sorrow or 
sickness he was to be found, strengthening and comforting 
many hearts with the details of the glories of the future 
life. Most especially was his work among children, joining 
with them as it were in their play, but instilling principles 
of uprightness in every joyous word that he spake to them. 
They knew not his name, but always alluded to him as 
the " Sunbeam." It was the Standard of Love earned by 
righteous dealing that he had come back through the gates 
to unfurl before the world, therefore he strove to plant the 
needful seeds into young hearts, so that they should take 
such strong root therein that no place would afterwards be 
found for the growth of untoward elements. 

I think it was at the April soiree of the B.N.A.S. that I 
had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mrs. Gordon, 
whose eyes were just being opened to the realities of spiri- 
tual existence, which to a woman of her fine intellect 
soon became a joy indeed. Hitherto she had limited her 
horizon to this poor earth of ours, and although that had 
not sufficed to her soul, her mind had resisted the idea of 
anything beyond its own powers, especially as those powers 
were rather extensive, and her strong faculties had made 
her somewhat of a leader among the non-believing ranks of 
the present day. But her noble nature enabled her fully to 
receive the new truth when it had proved itself to her to be 
a truth, which conviction came to her both through the 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 295 

physical and the mental phenomena, for she spared no pains 
in seeking the evidences on all sides ; and richly was she 
rewarded, for life presented to her quite a new aspect when 
she found it was but the preliminary step towards a future 
eternity becoming more and more full in the hereafter, 
when the powers that have had their birth upon this mundane 
plane shall gradually expand to their uttermost, and her 
grand soul realized that her fullest aspirations will have a 
scope far beyond any limit that she could have assigned 
to them. As it happened, on that first evening I sat behind 
her during the music, and may I be forgiven if I say 
that I fell in love with her hair, which is of the most 
exquisite chestnut tint I ever met with. My appreciation of 
true colouring is an integral portion of my being, and I 
indulged myself by watching the shifting lights and shades 
while there was no conversation going on to call my atten- 
tion. But it was only later on, in the cloak-room, that I 
accosted her, for we happened to be up there together 
making our preparations for departure, and I then learned 
that she was but a novice and a sincere enquirer into 
Spiritualism, so of course I said I should be happy to give 
her any information on the subject that I could if she 
would like to call here ; and it then turned out that she 
was living in the next street, and I had a visit from her 
on an early Wednesday. It became curious to note how 
often I afterwards met her during my little needful outings, 
and it was invariably in consequence of the spiritual direc- 
tions I received, as to where I should cross the street, or 
perhaps to return home instead of proceeding on another 
small errand, and such-like minor details, which were each 
time proofs to her that she was the specific recipient of 
watchful care, as it also was to me that her assured convic- 
tion was a matter of importance. She gradually obtained 
a complete certainty, and has since devoted her great talents 
to the cause of Spiritualism instead of materialism. She 
was wonderfully struck with the spirit photographs, and 
selected a good variety of them from my remaining stock, 
but she was much grieved that no chance then existed for her 



296 EVENINGS AT HOME 

to have a sitting herself, for she thought that her own personal 
evidence on the subject would carry yet stronger conviction 
to her immediate circle of friends than any others that she 
could shew to them. In this emergency she gladly availed 
herself of the suggestion made to her by an amateur photo- 
grapher, who had been a friend of long standing in India, 
that he should bring his apparatus to her house, and there 
make an experimental trial. She engaged the services of 
Mr. Williams, while Mrs. T. and I were also most anxious 
to aid with all our powers, although I must confess that my 
hopes were by no means so strong as my wishes. On the 
2nd of August, when we two went in there, we found Colonel 
Gordon busily engaged in hanging up a curtain for the back- 
ground that was also to do duty as a kind of dark cabinet for 
Mr. Williams, and the upper room had been densely darkened 
for the operator, who was going to use the dry plates which 
are so sensitively rapid in their action. That gave another 
shake to my faint hopes, for I have great faith in the help 
given by mesmerising the plates before collodionising them, 
and was disappointed that I could not give that assistance. 
In due time we were all assembled ; Mr. Williams took his 
place in the improvised cabinet, where he speedily became 
entranced, and several plates were patiently tried, but not 
the vestige of anything but ourselves appeared upon them. 
We had afterwards a seance in the back drawing-room, 
which she had for some time kept darkened for the purpose 
of holding circles there, having at different times engaged 
most of the professional physical mediums, to give her 
friends the opportunity of witnessing some of the phenomena 
that she had told them about. On this occasion very little 
of importance took place, for Mr. Williams was somewhat 
fatigued and exhausted when he arrived, having already 
held a seance that day, so that there was sure to be lack of 
power : still I do not believe that even if he had been fresh 
there would have come anything with regard to the photo- 
graphy, the operator, apparatus, and ] negatives being all 
new to the subject of spiritual apparitions. 

I had been at Mrs. T.'s on the Sunday before the photo- 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 297 

graphic attempt, and in a communication then given we 
three (including Mrs. Gordon, who was not with us) were 
exhorted to unite in a prayerful effort for a specific purpose, 
and the names then bestowed for that work were, Faith, G. 
H. — Hope, A. G. — Love, M. E. T. I only mention it 
because it became Mrs. T.'s custom to speak to me of Mrs. 
Gordon by the name of Hope. She wished her to be pre- 
sent at a seance with Mrs. Gray, so we arranged that it had 
better take place here: accordingly on August 12th, at 
about half-past two, we were seated near the window where 
my easel stands, as it was decided that we should not take 
our places at the table ; so I only had the small one in front 
of me, with paper and pencil, hoping to take down what 
should be given, but the little Indian "Daisy," who speaks 
through Mrs. Gray, is such a rapid little talker, that I found 
it impossible to follow her after the first few sentences ; I 
must therefore trust to my memory, and record it as I may 
recollect. Addressing Mrs. Gordon, she said : 

"You will be very happy in India, much happier than 
you have ever been, and I think you will remain there 
longer than you expect ; more than the three years. You 
will have much to do, and it will be what you like. You love 
much brain work : you must work your brain, and you will 
teach about Spiritualism, but you are not content to take a 
thing as people shew it to you, you must turn it about, and 
work it in every way, and when you have got it very sure, 
you hold it quite fast, and then you do the same with the 
next, and so on till all is complete." She then said a good 
deal about three little girls they have adopted, whose parents 
are both dead, all of which I omit. ..." But you will be 
very happy. You love to conquer difficulties, and to do 
things. You must lead, you are a born leader. You can 
take up the reins, not for one thing only, but for a great 
many : then you take up the rein for this thing, and for that 
thing, holding them all, and governing right royally. You 
are a medium yourself, and you will have writing, different 
kinds of writing, done through your own hand from different 
spirits, and it will amuse you to see the different hand-writ- 



290 EVENINGS AT HOME 

ings. And you will see the spirits and flowers, and pretty 
things, for you like what is pretty, and you like variety, not 
to be all one thing. You will write, not novels, nor tales, 
but something of what you know and want other people to 
know. You will make a book." Mrs. T. then said that 
" they " had been shewing her a book, and to me came the 
impression that she would make concentrated and condensed 
articles respecting the various phases of Spiritualism that 
she will have studied and witnessed shewing the different 
bearings of them, and that those articles will be interspersed 
as it were with visions. Mrs. T. then passed under influ- 
ence, and said what I suppose is given as the idea of the 
title : — " This book will be ' on the relation between mind 
and matter, with illustrations from my own experience.' — 
If you have an hour to-day, I will help you with the pre- 
face." [Who are you, dear friend?] said I, feeling sure 
that I recognised the speaker : but the only reply was, " I 
see I must go away. I thought I could introduce colour, 
but it does not do in this book; it must be mind and 
matter, and she will be helped by another." [Is it Sir Peter 
Lely ?] The laughing response was, " I thought I should 
not be found out : but I must not help with the book." 
Turning towards Mrs. Gray, and shaking hands : " Well, 
Daisy, I have great pleasure in meeting you here." After 
a few more words he began to plead with Daisy for a pinch 
of snuff, about which he was rather urgent, and a little more 
talk went on between them about her own personal matters, 
and Daisy was much struck with his large and handsome 
snuff-box, of which he bewailed the emptiness. . . . 

Daisy again addressed Mrs. Gordon, describing a spirit 
whom she saw near her, whose side face resembled her 
own very strongly, but who was not so like when look- 
ing fully : she had dark hair and was young (she was her 
mother), but her thread of life appeared to have been 
snapped suddenly (she had died at Mrs. Gordon's birth). 
She would be enabled to write through her daughter's hand, 
and might probably give her many details of her own earth- 
life with which her daughter was unacquainted. She then 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 299 

described a fine-looking man (her uncle), who seemed to 
be endowed with the same energy and power that she is 
herself, and the same talent for leadership. Daisy then 
turned to Mrs. T., and said : 

" You, too, do a great many things, and a great deal of 
work, but you do not do it as a leader. You work and 
work, and set a wheel going here, and another there, to 
make things go smoothly, and other people think they do it 
all : they do not see the machinery that is always busy, a 
little oil here, and a little turn there ; and the one who is 
always trying to smooth matters, and to help away all 
burthens, is not seen, nor known, nor noticed : — it just 
seems to people as if matters smoothed themselves, and they 
do not realise the continual thinking and fitting that thus 
make the things come smooth. You are like a person 
who arranges a number of figures, and then, while he is 
hidden, he pulls the strings, so as to make them move 
about, and do what is best for them to do. You work the 
Oracle. . . . But you must take care of yourself. You 
must not go away; the spirits are trying not to let you leave 
England ; it is not good for you to go about, and they are 
trying what they can to keep you here. Ah ! there is 
another little Daisy : she does you good, she pours some- 
thing down your back to strengthen you; she vs> your little 
papoose (a baby she had lost before the time for its birth), 
and she is with you a great deal. There are many spirits 
round you, and oh ! there are so many here, such bright 
ones." Then turning to me, she said : " I see that young 
man whom I have so often seen before, the one who was 
drowned." [My Charlie.] "Yes, Charlie, and he says he 
is with you a great deal : he can make the bird whistle — 
sing, I mean." Her saying that was curious, for Charlie 
has always claimed my cardinal as his bird, while the Dove 
belonged to my dear little sisters, and now has her dwelling 
in their home. Daisy now described Zilla, Papa, Mamma, 
Katie, Mrs. Osborne (whom she had seen before), and by 
her side she described a tall handsome lady, with a remark- 
ably beautiful complexion and auburn hair, whom I recog- 



30O EVENINGS AT HOME 

nised as her eldest daughter. Likewise my small sisters 
who were strewing quantities of flowers about me. It 
seemed to her as if my troubles could not continue much 
longer, but that at any rate my needs will be supplied, by 
varied little helps. She said there were many bands of 
spirits succeeding one another (I think she must have 
meant the ten septs), and that all did something for me. 
That there were always fresh and fresh people coming to 
me, each to gather what they could receive, and that in 
some way they would all contribute towards my require- 
ments. More was said, but somehow I can less retain 
what was said to myself, than to the other two ; I suppose 
because it is unnecessary to record it. 

At about five o'clock we went into the back room for a 
little refreshment, after which we resumed our places, and 
I got out the coat of many colours, and the white one, to 
shew to Mrs. Gordon and Mrs. Gray. Then somehow, 
our thoughts reverted to the subject of the Sunday com- 
munication, and a great deal was spoken about it through 
Mrs. T. After which Mrs. Gray stood up, and with much 
dignity an address was made to each of us : the Spirit 
saying, "I am he who seldom gives his name." But it 
came so unexpectedly that I was not prepared to take it 
down, so that nothing remains to me, but that a name was 
given to Mrs. Gordon, referring to her work in India, that 
of the "Pioneer." 

Mrs. Gray remained later with me than the others, and 
when I returned to her (where she was sitting by the 
window) after seeing Mrs. T. and Mrs. Gordon off, she told 
me she had seen a lady come out on one of the balconies, 
who had given her a certain impression, and she said she 
sometimes saw beautiful lights from houses when she knew 
nothing about the people, so I asked her what she thought 
of the shut-up house. " Oh ! that is a very sweet influ- 
ence : it belongs to one who has a very kind nature. She 
would like to help every one and to make them all happy ; 
but somehow her nature has been cramped in her youth, — 
cramped and warped. But she would wish to make every- 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 301 

body happy, only she would like to do it in her own way, 
for she cannot bear even the slightest interference : she 
must to a certain extent dominate wherever she is, and is 
apt to be (shall I say ?) displeased if at all contradicted ; 
but notwithstanding that, hers is a charming nature, and the 
house is filled with very bright spirits when she is at home. 
I had not mentioned whether it was a lady or a gentleman 
who inhabited the house, nor that I knew the inmate, but 
the delineation of her character was very accurate. 

Mrs. T. came to me on the 23rd of October, and as she 
had been some time absent from home, we had much to 
talk over, among which we touched upon the prophecy 
(published in the last Medium) given through Mr. Colville, 
of the changes which may be expected in 1881, which is 
similar in many respects to much that has been inbreathed 
to me, and also in later times given through various 
mediums. I said something about our quiet talk between 
ourselves, going into space, perhaps to rest in other minds, 
all unknown to us. She then seemed to listen, and I asked 
if she heard anything, while at the same time a sentence 
came into my thought, to which I did not give utterance, 
but she spoke it, saying, " Although they have neither 
speech nor language, yet their voices are gone forth even 
unto the ends of the earth." In looking back upon this, 
it seems to me that while she heard the voice, it must 
equally have gone to my inner senses, although not to my 
consciousness, and that it may be thus that I receive the 
inbreathing, only with spirit rapidity, for I appear to gather 
such a fulness of ideas all at once. 

On the last day of October Mrs. Gordon called here to 
say farewell, but as I happened to be out she left word for 
me to go round to her, as she would be too fully engaged 
to come in again, which I accordingly did, so as to have 
a final peep at her before her departure for India ; and it 
seems that Daisy was right in her prevision, for the three 
years are nearly expired, and I hear no word of her return, 
although her name has been prominent as an energetic 
worker for Spiritualism in that distant land of ours. 



302 EVENINGS AT HOME 

One evening in November, Miss Pery was with me, and 
was anxious to have some messages about her mother's 
health, as she had had while with me on the previous even- 
ing, but she only received a few raps, with nothing decisive, 
but presently she said, " Oh ! what a very uncomfortable 
influence I feel ! it makes me quite shiver with intensity of 

cold : is it F ? " No, it was not. " Or old M ? " 

Still no, so she placed her hand on the little table for the 
alphabet. A letter was given, then another, but they made 
no sense, so she asked for a recommencement, but the same 
two were given, and we then realized that they were the 
initials of a double name, and we received communications 
on the subject of the spirit, who had not very long passed 
from earth ; but when the messages were over, Miss Pery 
could not recover from the intense feeling of cold, which 
seemed to pierce her through and through, although she 
sat down on the footstool, turning her back to the fire, for 
the spine appeared especially to suffer. She said she had 
had the feeling of being surrounded by icebergs, even 
seeing their cold, jagged, shining points rising up on all 
sides. It was one who had been utterly and selfishly cold, 
except to his own personal belongings, and we were told 
that this is his retribution, also that the ice cannot be 
melted from the out-side : his heart must warm towards 
others, and thus only can it be dissolved, but our prayers 
and kind thoughts may reach him and in some degree 
kindle an answering glow ; and we are both doing our best 
in that direction. It was a singular lesson, and one that 
all may do well to lay to heart. At intervals we have occa- 
sionally had a few words, and they were each time of an 
ameliorated nature. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 3C3 



CHAPTER XXL 

On the 18th of November Miss Ingram came to see me, 
and later on Miss Pery likewise came in, which was their 
first introduction to one another, and we had a small 
seance of which I have nothing special to record. Miss 
Ingram went away about eight o'clock, and after she had 
left I told Miss Pery that her stone was the diamond. 
The idea of an appropriate precious stone was new to her, 
and she asked what mine was ? " The Opal," and she then 
wondered what hers might be. The answer, however, did 
not come to me, but to herself, that it was the sapphire 
(meaning truth), of which the corroboration came to me, 
and it led to my telling her about Mrs. Ramsay, and that 
while they were in India, they were robbed of (I think) 
plate and jewellery to some considerable extent, so they 
sent for one of the Indian seers (or discoverers of stolen 
goods, though I am not sure of the name by which they 
are called), and he noticed on her finger a large sapphire 
which she usually wears, and said to her : — " You will re- 
cover your rings, because you still retain that one, which is 
your own stone." His prediction was fulfilled, for the 
rings were recovered, all tied together, but none of the 
other articles. Having discussed that matter, we talked of 
other things, and presently she complained of feeling a dis- 
agreeable influence, and wondered who it might be, but we 
received a negative to all our suggestions ; when suddenly 
that Indian flashed into my mind, and I was told that it 
was he, and that he had come to seek for Light. Miss 
Pery wondered how we could help one who was as it were 
so far out of our range, so I said we must not only prayer 
him, but strive to teach him to pray ; so I placed my hand 
on the table, and asked him to unite with me in what I was 
going to say. I then commenced The Lord's Prayer, and 



304 EVENINGS AT HOME 

at each petition he tipped the table three times in assent. 
When I came to, " Give us this day our daily bread," there 
was a hesitation, until I explained that spiritual food was 
also typified, when he assented as before ; but when I said, 
" Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass 
against us," I received a positive refusal ; all my talking and 
persuasions were unavailing, he would not be induced to for- 
give the injuries he might have received; that Christian 
grace is at present beyond his grasp, and we then learned 
that he was gone. Presently Miss Pery was impelled, as 
she often is, to give me caressing touches on the face and 
head, asking who it was, and after some mental questioning 
on my part, I found that it was Jim Ramsay, and that 
the mission was then given to him to work among those 
Indian spirits (a multitude of them being in the same 
radius as the one who had communicated), and that he is 
to strive to bring them to Christianity, being to some extent 
prepared for that labour during his earth-life by his sojourn 
in India (where both his birth and his death took place), 
and his knowledge of their language, which is a need in 
dealing with spirits of a low grade • but that he will also be 
strengthened and helped in the work by prayers from this 
side, so I wrote to Mrs. Ramsay about it, and to ask her to 
give her aid, which will of course be all the stronger from 
so much of her own life having been passed in India. 

Mrs. T. came to me on the 2nd of December, when I 
read to her the above account ; and while we were discuss- 
ing the subject, she passed under influence, so gently that 
I was scarcely aware of it at first, when she said : " His 
was the kind of brain suitable for the reception of impres- 
sions, more so than some that might be looked upon as 
more intellectual, and he could thus be made available for 
the higher directing influences, to serve as a medium for 
them among those Indian minds which had been as yet 
unprepared for a true knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ. 
Through this medium, therefore, those directing influences 
could come within reach of those who have never heard of 
the Kingdom of The Lord Jesus, which is now being drawn 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 305 

from all the ends of the earth and from the Heavens in 
which He is to reign. So with this explanation it becomes 
easy to see why this man has been chosen for this work, 
and by it one is helped to understand how and why some- 
times men seemingly unsuitable are chosen for special 
missions. It is necessary that a man should be suited to, 
or have some special relation with, that work to which he is 
to be called, but it is still more important that he have a 
brain which can be acted upon and through by wiser beings 
than himself, — indeed, those wiser ones left to do the work 
by themselves would be like men without hands \ they could 
not do it. No man, no spirit, is so high as to say to any 
other, ' I have no need of thee,' so we learn the great 
lesson of reciprocity, and to include charity as the greatest 
of all gifts. 

" There was a purpose in this man's life, nourished by 
his tender mother : there was a greater purpose in his 
death. For by his life he was fitted for this great work, and 
she may continue to greatly aid him. Let her be sure that 
his death was a needed step in the great plan of his whole 
life . . I am permitted to say that through and by what he 
has already done, many even now rise up to say — ' Let the 
sunlight smile upon her : — let the moonbeams gently touch 
her : — gentle mother, she is blessed.' " She said these 
latter words very tenderly, and then awoke. 

I had a curious book lent to me, entitled "Modern 
Hieroglyphics," consisting of coloured illustrations, as 
interpretations of the Apocalypse, combined in a manner 
with the revelations discovered by Professor Piazzi Smyth 
in the measurements of the Great Pyramid. Both she and 
a friend who was then staying there, were much interested, 
and the prophecies led to considerable discussion. Towards 
the end, when it came to the 144,000 who were sealed, 
Mrs. T. heard the numbers frequently repeated to her, and 
she said to me, Were the 144,000 to be all? I said, No, 
they were to be the first-fruits^ but all would eventually 
belong to Christ's Kingdom, for that is to be universal. 

Then she seemed to be seeing, and gently murmured 

u 



306 EVENINGS AT HOME 

that many who made sure were not among the sealed ones, 
and many also there were among them who had not deemed 
themselves worthy, and she saw their looks of glad surprise 
coupled with humility. Gradually she passed quite under 
influence, and said : " Some there are jn this present day 
who must take heed. Let them take great care in this 
respect, that they do not repeat history in ignoring the 
messenger who precedes the Coming New Dispensation : — 
or else their attitude to this New Dispensation will be pre- 
cisely that of the Jews to the Christian Dispensation now 
drawing to its close." [May I ask who it is that gives this 
message?] "One who sat and listened." By which I well 
understood that Mary of Bethany was implied, but some- 
thing disturbed her, and she awoke. 

She came to me on the evening of December 30th, in 
the thought of the anniversary of my mediumship, which 
would take place the next day, but that being Tuesday, she 
would be engaged at home. After a time she asked for 
the little table, having an impression to place her hands 
upon it, and we agreed that it was quite in, accordance with 
the idea of her visit, as it had been bought for the express 
purpose of my development, so I put it in front of us, with 
a supply of paper and pencils. . . . Mrs. T. gradually 
passed under influence, and said, "Let the living voice 
testify of Me. Thy works are sufficient for the time, but 
now, in the fulness of time, let thy voice be heard. Many 
will hear and believe that thou art taught of The Lord. — It 
is His work, and good in His sight, so fear not, Comforter." 
... (I omit here a portion of what passed.) For a little 
time she was silent, but then resumed, " When the power 
returns, give it voice, and it shall tell thee what is true, and 
direct thee in thy shaded path, and thou shalt avoid every 
stumbling-block, for thy feet will be guided." Here was 
again a long pause, and the expression of her countenance 
lost its solemnity and became smiling, as if in response to 
friends: then she said, "Who is William? He gives thee 
greeting." I thanked him cordially. "Many of us greet 
thee, and would fain have speech, but the power is lacking." 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 307 

I greeted them all in return, and it reminded me of another 
31st of December that she was with me, when almost in 
her normal state, she saw so many of my friends, and said 
it seemed like a family gathering, and that they were all 
strewing flowers around me, and now, when she awoke, she 
said she smelled the perfume of flowers. Presently she 
again passed into trance, and said : " The Lord shall 
quicken whom He will, and none shall say this is the work 
of man : behold, all things that are alive shall be made 
new. Let the dead bury their dead and pass away. Ye 
who are called to newness of life must in no wise pause to 
look back. • The Lord's work claims thee, and by it ye shall 
live and not die, and those who are dear to thee, for thy 
sake they also shall live, and all will be gathered into the 
Kingdom of The Lord, Who now speaks by the mouth of 
His messenger." [May I ask the name of the messenger?] 
" Even he who announced the birth of Our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ." [Dear Gabriel?] "Even so. Many 
signs will follow those who believe, and, as of old, it will be 
for the simple to see and to comprehend : the worldly-wise 
are shrouded in their own wisdom, and cannot see the 
Light now dawning in the world. None may speak of 
these things except by and through The Lord (here she 
clasped her hands together) : The Lord gives the power, 
He may also take it away. Let The Lord's name be 
blessed. (Rising, and spreading her hands outwards), Now to 
The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, be praises ever- 
more, world without end, Amen." She here awoke for a 
time, and we were again in quiet conversation, when a new 
power came upon her, causing her to speak more rapidly 
than she is wont, and in a rather plaintive and imploring 
voice : 

" Dear Hope is talking, and she says — ' How is it ? and 
why all this turmoil? Do write and tell me how things 
are, and tell me how I stand, explaining all these dark 
things to me. Comfort me, and let me know all there is 
to be known, and whether all is fraud, so that I may learn 
to know my own mind. I reach out — I reach out to you 



308 EVENINGS AT HOME 

in spirit, and you will help me, and not turn my hands 
empty away. What is true? and what is right? Who is 
truthful ? I seem to be on the sea without rudder or chart, 
and I know not where I am drifting. I thought I had an 
anchor, but my rest is gone ; so help me, comfort me ; shew 
me what is true and what is stable, and do not leave me, 
for I shall sink without help." Here she awoke, and she 
saw Mrs. Gordon standing as it were between us, so I read 
to her what had passed, and we thought that possibly dear 
Hope might have come to us in her sleep. The circumstance 
referred to was something that had been published in the 
Spiritualist journals some time previously which we had 
thought at the time might be a worry to her, but which had 
now passed out of our own minds. Mrs. T. had been wish- 
ing to write to her, but had not her Indian address, which, 
however, I could give ; so we agreed that I should copy 
the communication, and also write her a letter, which Mrs. 
T. would forward with hers. We had another communica- 
tion referring to the omitted portion, which I likewise with- 
hold; so I will now give an extract from Mrs. Gordon's 
letter, dated February igtk, 1879. "It seems rather a 
strange coincidence that I only heard of the case in ques- 
tion at the date or thereabout you mention as having been 
sitting with Mrs. T. It must have been about the 29th of 
December that I saw the account in the Banner of Light. 
We only arrived in Calcutta on the 22nd, and my husband 
after Christmas went and called on Peary-Chand Mittra, 
and brought home some papers he lent him. I was really 
distressed, but even more astonished at what I read, but it 
did not in the least shake my faith : I k7iew there was no 
fraud in my house, and no exposure can affect me in that 
way. My distress was for the cause, and a feeling that it 
weakened one's arguments when a sceptic could bring the 
very men, who had given the seances by which one admitted 
one's conviction, forward as accused of imposture. I felt 
as though I should be unable to fight so well against scoffers 
and sceptics if they knew this." It seems to me clear that 
in the very first moment of her distress (which it must have 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 



309 



been at the time of her appeal to us), she felt it even more 
keenly than she afterwards remembered, for I know by my 
own feelings in such matters, how one exaggerates the fear 
of the mischief to the cause that they may occasion, and 
how fully one learns to realise that that which is God's own 
work, cannot permanently be injured, and that it is indeed 
safe in His Hands. 

Mr. Joseph returned from Melbourne towards the close 
of the year, wonderfully renovated in health, although still 
somewhat of an invalid. He had now most entirely accepted 
the Divinity of Christ, and was essentially a Christian, but 
I never urged him to any open acknowledgment, for I think 
that in such cases a man must act according to his own 
judgment ; besides which there are such diversities of sects 
in the Christian Church that he would need to weigh well 
all the different considerations ere he should decide to 
which he would unite himself: — to say nothing of the pain 
he might give to his family, especially to his tender, loving 
mother. Not that such plea was ever put forth by him, for 
the question was never in the slightest degree mooted 
between us. He used to go on the Sunday to different 
places of Christian worship, and doubtless gathered benefit 
from each and all. But his inner questionings were all 
brought to me, and I could always answer so as to give him 
conviction, help being given to me to make my words simply 
clear. His visits here were generally on the Saturday, and 
we often passed over a great variety of ground in our talks. 
He was a fairly good French scholar as far as understanding 
the language went, but he was not very secure as to his 
pronunciation, and he once asked me if I knew any French- 
man who would be willing to make a mutually advantageous 
arrangement, by taking an English lesson in reading from 
him in exchange for a French one. I certainly did not, 
nor did I quite think such a plan would be practicable, but 
I offered to do duty as a Frenchman by giving him the 
reading lessons myself, without the exchanged benefit, and 
I agreed that he should come every Saturday morning at 
eleven for about a couple of hours, also suggesting that 



3IO EVENINGS AT HOME 

the best book for his purpose would be the New Testament. 
He had made himself thoroughly conversant with it in its 
English form during his long absence in Australia, so that 
he would have no difficulties as to translation, although I 
did have a good deal as to the pronunciation of some of 
the sounds, and we would have a word repeated over and 
over again until he got it with tolerable accuracy • but it 
reminded me of the test as to tribe which was devised by 
Jephthah ; see Judges xii. 5, 6. " And it was so, that when 
those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go 
over ; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an 
Ephraimite ? If he said, Nay ; then said they unto him, 
Say now Shibboleth : and he said Sibboleth : for he could 
not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and 
they slew him at the passages of Jordan." For it really 
seemed as if he could not " frame to pronounce " some of 
the combinations correctly, and the effort in straining every 
muscle of his face was to me very remarkable, for there 
seemed to be a kind of physical disability. They were 
French lessons, but yet more decidedly they were theological 
ones ; for we began with the Gospel according to St. John, 
and the elucidation of those divine words, which we seem 
to have drawn in with our mother's milk, had to be shaped 
into words that should make clear explanations to one to 
whom all was novelty, and the one chapter to which we 
limited our reading would give rise to endless thoughts. 
First, I would read a verse or two, and he would then read 
the same until he had mastered its obstacles, when we 
might perhaps branch off into its theology, so that the two 
or three hours we might thus spend would be in every way 
valuable to him. Our talk was interspersed with the narra- 
tion of some vision that he might have had in the interim, 
of which he would either receive the interpretation himself, 
or perhaps I might give it. He used to term me his mother 
No. 2, because I had originally developed his rnediumship. 
He was still very much out of health, and resolved upon 
going down to Hastings for a time for the benefit of the 
sea-breezes in the hope of thus gaining strength, and on 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 3II 

his last visit here, we exactly finished St. John's Gospel, 
when I said we had better wait until his return before 
deciding upon which Book we would go to next, but I little 
thought that such return would never be in mortal form, 
for while at Hastings he was attacked with something of 
the nature of English cholera, and one of his brothers was 
summoned down just in time to be with him during the 
last few hours. That same brother afterwards called upon 
me to communicate his death and the manner of it : he 
said he seemed to fall off into a peaceful sleep, with scarcely 
even a sigh. 

He had fully realised since the first renewal of his visits 
here that a great mission was before him ; in fact the visions 
of his childhood, to which I have already alluded, were pre- 
monitory in the same direction, and his predominant feel- 
ing was that it would be among his own nation, to lead 
them first to Spiritualism and through that to Christianity, 
in the same course that he had pursued, and he expected 
that health and strength would be given to him when he 
was ripe for the work, so that he should therein be an active 
labourer, although he waited with the utmost patience until 
the right moment should arrive, when his field of action 
would be made plain to him. Since his departure I have 
learned that his mission has indeed a far larger scope than 
even he had anticipated, for it is to the countless genera- 
tions of his nation who have passed out of mortality that he 
is to teach the high truths that have been revealed to him 
here, so that it is a parallel case to that of Jim Ramsay. 
To touch the Jewish prejudices, still strong as ever in the 
beyond, it was needful that there should be the powerful 
national affinities, and he has been in every way prepared 
for the work he has to do, even those French lessons being 
as a type that every muscle and fibre of his being was to be 
rendered more supple so as to enable him to be in harmony 
with each tribal division. To me it had been vouchsafed 
to be the means through whom the first gleam of the true 
light should be shed upon him ; thus the Christian element 
was contained within the first small stream that was poured 



312 EVENINGS AT HOME 

in upon him, and rested gently within his soul ready to 
amalgamate with all that should be in harmony therewith 
until the mighty Truth flooded his entire being, and then 
he was prepared to be summoned to his real sphere of 
action. 

I wrote to tell Miss Ingram of his, to us, unexpected 
death on the 12th of July (the 2nd had been his 47th 
birthday), and I was so much struck with what she said on 
the subject, that I must transcribe it. "I am much startled 
to learn that Mr. Joseph is called to the other side. He 
has been made ready here for a life of important action on 
the other side, and had he been called thither sooner, 
however loyal and ardent he might have been, he could 
not have gained the needed instruction and experience so 
rapidly and effectively there as he has done here. He 
goes to swell the hosts of The Most High — which all who 
pass from this side certainly do not, for they are not ready. 
But there can be little doubt that Mr. Joseph has been made 
ready, and what is equally importa.7it, he has made himself 
ready. They who are to compose the hosts of The Lord 
are more numerous in the spheres than on the earth — the 
conflict will be a terrible one — the issues stupendous — 
and this little Earth the battle-ground. Men, — mortals, will 
have to decide. They will find no hollow talk about God 
or the Soul will avail them. But a direct recognition that 
God is a living God, very near to all of us, that he is lord, 
that He rules in the affairs of men, and that His govern- 
ment has reference always to the right-doing and the good 
actions of men. Hideous greed is not easily abandoned. 
Most Englishmen have been acting as Lot did. They 
have been eagerly choosing the good things even when 
these led them to associate with Sodomites. Though some 
of them even like Lot, who ' vexed his righteous heart every 
day,' have grieved much at the evil they have witnessed ; 
yet they have kept the good things, and not withdrawn 
from the evil associations. Think of the frailty and con- 
tradiction of life in a good man, ' vexing his righteous heart 
daily. 7 Yet the seductiveness of riches — of good things — 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 313 

must be great : they must drug the sensibilities. There is 
not the faintest intimation that Lot ever contemplated 
changing his place of residence so as to escape from those 
evils that vexed his righteous heart : Lot was a materialist, 
and had not a vivid mind to grasp the truth of things in 
actual life." 

I have alluded to my difficulties, but they have taught 
me many lessons as to what those of my own class may 
have to suffer in mournful silence when external supplies 
fail them. I had a variety of little trinkets that I loved for 
remembrances attached to them, but even some of those 
had to go. One of the earliest, for it had only been my 
own purchase since we came to this house, was a small 
gold chain for the throat on which to suspend a locket, 
and for it I had paid 18s. I do not think I had worn it a 
dozen times, so that it was as fresh as when new : and for 
that I could only obtain three shillings ! I tried in two 
different shops, painful as was the feeling in so doing, but 
the result was the same, and as even that tiny amount was 
of importance to me, the sacrifice had to be ! Many 
many such trials were mine ! Some things there were that 
I could not part with, so I resolved to try the other expe- 
dient of which I had heard, and to pledge them. I knew 
their value was considerable, but all the jeweller would give 
me upon them was ^3, on which a monthly interest was to 
be paid that did not sound so very much, but that in the 
year mounted up to twelve shillings. It was not nearly 
what I needed for my then purpose, but, thank God ! the 
remainder came to me from another source. I had hoped 
to be able soon to redeem them — but I was not. When 
the month's interest was due, as I should be in the neigh- 
bourhood (for it was at some distance from here), I sug- 
gested to my counsellors that I should call and pay it, which 
they negatived, and still did so on each successive occasion 
until nearly the expiration of the year, when I went to pay 
the amount due, and then how thankful I was that he had 
not given me more upon them, as the drain would have 
been so much the heavier : but then I learned that even in 



314 EVENINGS AT HOME 

that particular, my unseen teachers were wise beyond my 
knowledge, for the law permits that at each payment they 
give afresh pawn-ticket, price one penny: — if therefore I 
had paid monthly, as had been my original thought, the 
cost would have been an additional shilling in the year ! 
When the next twelve months had almost rolled round, I 
was in a real agony of mind, for I had not the money to 
spare, and even should the shillings come in, I thought — 
should I dare to part with them ? had I not better let my 
treasures go ! — for thus in five years I should have to pay 
all I had received, and might still be unable to redeem 
them ! The thought was bitter indeed ! — But then came a 
commission for a tiny monogram, and the curious sum 
proffered for it was twelve shillings ! But I was immediately 
given to understand that^it was so fixed for me to realise 
that it was expressly intended to meet that especial difficulty, 
and that therefore I was to have no qualms about thus appro- 
priating it. The commission came through the interposi- 
tion of a friend who generally comes up to London once a 
year, and always calls upon me during the time of her visit. 
Although these sort of troubles are generally deeply hidden 
within one's own secrecy, I could not help telling her how 
great had been the relief she had been the means of bring- 
ing to me. The next year she was again in London at 
about the same season, and called upon me with her friend 
of the monogram, who bought a pair of little socks, and 
other things that would again help me through the trouble. 
Then she took me aside, and whisperingly asked me if it 
would be any comfort if she should lend me £2, to redeem 
a part. — Oh ! would it not? for my fear always was — suppose 
when the moment came it should be impossible to meet the 
emergency ! In a day or two she brought me the money 
— telling me that I could make the small payments that 
I should have done as interest, which were to be in gradual 
liquidation of the debt ! ! ! Her means are narrow, but 
may I point out to such as are wealthy that that is a class 
of help they might sometimes give ? She did not need the 
security of my jewels, and they were to be in my own 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 315 

keeping. She is indeed a true and sterling woman, and 
will find her path in the hereafter strewed with countless 
blessings. Of course I immediately redeemed a portion 
of my belongings, most thankful once more to have them 
in my possession, and towards the close of the year I 
was able to pay the other sovereign so as to reclaim the 
remainder. 

In the October of the previous year, Mrs. T. had told 
me of her anxiety about the health of her youngest child, 
the one who spiritually may be considered as partly mine, 
according to various messages both before and after her 
birth, and through me an intimation was then given that 
it referred to her future development into trance medium- 
ship, and there were also directions as to treatment. She 
then heard the words — " Think of Anna the prophetess ; 
have her much in mind." Now Anna had greeted Our 
Infant Lord in the temple ; and may have to help this child 
medium. . . . She presently passed under influence, and 
said : — " Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou 
hast perfected praise (here she pressed her finger on my 
brow with much force), and to thee I say that the eye of 
faith may penetrate beyond the veil, that veil which is 
impenetrable to mortal sight. I likewise enjoin upon thee 
to let thy thoughts dwell much and often upon this child, 
for thou art her prototype, and she will know that I Am, 
and I shall reign throughout all the kingdoms of the earth. 
Fear not — all will be well." She then awoke, and we had 
a little more conversation on the subject before she left. I 
met her the next evening at Langham Hall (for the Reci- 
tations of Miss Ella Dietz and her brother), and she then 
told me that the child had that day had the very worst 
attack she had ever had ; but that she had herself felt quite 
calm through it all. That was the very last instance, for 
there has since been no repetition. 

Mr. Green came to see me on the 29th of October 1879. 
We began with some little talk, and then I shewed him one 
of the drawings, but while he was yet examining its beauties 
and admiring it, I was impressed to mesmerise him, for he 



316 EVENINGS AT HOME 

had been somewhat detained in coming, which had flurried 
him. It was the heart that was mesmerised, and he almost 
immediately said how much his head was relieved. Then 
he asked ; " Who is that tall lady standing behind you ? she 
is tall and slender, and the name 'Anna' comes to me." 
I could not at first think of any Anna till he said : " She 
seems to have been a very long time in the spirit world, 
and her hands appear to be enveloped in a kind of blue 
atmosphere." I then at once understood that it was Anna 
the prophetess. I was telling Mrs. T. about this when she 
came to see me the next evening, and she related to me 
that when she had taken the child on her knee on the 
previous afternoon, she had exclaimed at seeing her sur- 
rounded with a blue light, and one of those present had 
thought that perhaps her eyes were dazzled by having just 
come in from the sunshine, — but it was a soft beautiful 
blue atmosphere, such as that described by Mr. Green, and 
it must have been a signal to her of the presence of Anna, 
which she will understand if she should see it again. 

It was our first meeting since her return from America, 
so that naturally our conversation had ranged over many 
subjects, and something was said about the many changes 
in the course of life, especially in the long years ago, and 
she said (although she afterwards wondered how she had 
ventured to put such a question), " Which part of your life 
do you think has been the happiest ? " To which I replied, 
" Oh ! this, beyond all comparison, notwithstanding all the 
pressure of my pecuniary difficulties. The absolute certainty 
of realising God's continual Presence is beyond all other 
happiness, besides that of being always surrounded by those 
whom I have loved in the past, so that I feel a joy and a 
peace far beyond all the pleasures of my former life." — 
Then in a dreamy way she said, " I see a bird," — and I 
found she was passing under influence, so I got paper and 
pencil, and she repeated the words, " I see a bird, coming 
up quite close. It has got a twig in its mouth. It isn't very 
green, and it means peace." [A twig of olive, is it ?] " It 
is holding it up for you to see. It has a berry on it : I see 






IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 3 I 7 

the berry, which is a much deeper green than the leaf. It 
shews the fruit, but it means peace. It says — Peace I bring 
with Me — My peace I give unto you." [May I ask the 
meaning of having a fruit in the emblem of peace ?] " It 
symbolises the daily bread which The Lord promised to 
those who loved Him if they asked for such sustenance." 
[Has the form of the symbol any reference to the olive 
being a tree of my own land? ] " In order to reach you, 
it has been needful for the Dove to watch the waters lest at 
any time they might overwhelm you ; and now, — at the 
moment when these begin to subside, lo ! this bird of 
promise is able to gather the branch of promise, and it is 
brought to you at the earliest moment. It is an indication 
that from a very near point of time the waters have com- 
menced to subside, and you will be able to feel your feet on 
The Lord's earth. This tender spirit whose outward symbol 
has brought you comfort." [May I ask what Spirit ?] " The 
Holy Spirit — The Comforter, Whose peace passeth under- 
standing. It is expected that you will see this branch ; it 
will remain with you, and when you faint,* it will be right 
to ask that Our Lord in mercy grant you the power to see 
this token. It will even go before you as the light passed 
before them of old. — It will go before you to shew you the 
way, and when it rests you may safely repose. There was 
one who in the olden time received the blessing, the sweet 
assurance that the waters had begun to abate ; the same 
blessed Master sends to you by the same message the same 
blessed assurance in all its spiritual significance. Receive, 
dear sister,t this sacred sign, and treasure the symbol now 
sent for the second time, to signify that the world will be 
saved." Here she awoke and was much struck with the 



* The word faint shews me that I may still expect a season of 
struggle and anxieties. Psalm xxvii. 13, " I had fainted, unless I had 
believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." 
Prayer-book version ; 15, "I should utterly have fainted." 

+ There was a kind of hesitation before the word " sister " was used, 
which led me, upon thinking over the seance afterwards, to enquire 
who had been the communicating spirit, and I was informed that it was 
Anna the prophetess. 



318 EVENINGS AT HOME 

fulness of the promises given. We then talked about my 
Whit Sunday Dove, which I had received as a symbol of 
The Comforter, and Mrs. T. wondered whether it might be 
the spirit of that very bird that had been enabled to bring me 
the emblem of Peace, and she was answered that it was. 

In the earlier part of the evening I had spoken of Mr. 
Harrison Green's visit to me on the previous day, and of 
his having been like myself an amateur photographer ; also 
that he had some years ago purchased a large new camera 
and other apparatus that he had never yet used, and I 
thought that perhaps at some future time he and I might 
try for the spirit photography — but we were not thinking of 
the subject, when she said, "Just at that moment I had a 
glimpse of that photographic apparatus that I saw here 
before, long ago. [See First Series, page 340.] It was just 
behind you, where your easel stands, and it seemed to be 
pointing towards the door. I saw a man with his head 
under a black cloth looking through it. I do not know 
whether that would be the right place for the camera to 
stand, but perhaps it would have to be placed there at first 
so as to be filled with power, as that is the most sacred 
place in your room, being the one you occupy while 
engaged upon your drawings." 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. Z l 9 



CHAPTER XXII. 

I went to see Mrs. T. on the 6th of November, and was 
much struck with a beautiful tiny wheatsheaf on a table 
near the window, when she told me that she had been 
impressed to unpack it that morning, and to place it on 
that particular spot. It had been laid on the coffin of a 
beloved relative, deceased during her late visit to her girl- 
hood's home. We established ourselves in front of the fire, 
and talked away to our hearts' content for some considerable 
time. She suddenly gave a slight start, and began to rub 
one of the fingers of her right hand, saying that it was like 
the burn from a spark of fire ; but the fire was burning very 
gently, moreover the feeling was on the side of the finger 
nearest to me, and away from the fire, which led us to talk 
of St. Stephen's signal, and the various occasions upon 
which we had both felt it, either together or apart. I had 
with me the two little books into which I copy her visions, 
and read to her the one she had had the week before, 
about the Dove and olive-branch ; and also, in connexion 
with the death of my Arthur's week-old baby, the beautiful 
vision she had had of children floating, that I had copied, 
and sent to Arthur in his trouble. I afterwards spoke of an 
earlier vision that had occurred on the 1 8th of February 1870, 
which I read to her as follows : — " I have been looking at 
what I supposed to be little globes of light, but when I 
look more closely I find that they all enclose a little form, 
very tiny, like the first beginning of the child ; one part is 
larger than the other, and it curves and tapers. The air is 
full of them. These are children of the brain : they are 
thoughts which can be sent to receptive people from the 
spirit world. The ball of light which seems to enclose the 
tiny shape forms the atmosphere by which it can be carried 
from one place to another." 



32 EVENINGS AT HOME 

I told her that that vision often recurred to my mind, 
and that I expected the idea would some time be elaborated 
either to her or to me, and that something of the kind has 
been represented in one or two of my later symbolical 
drawings, but of which I have not as yet received the inter- 
pretations. Even while I was yet speaking, it came (in- 
breathed) to me that these thoughts must, in the first 
instance, rest in a brain sufficiently elevated to be in affinity 
with it ; there it, as it were, germinates and developes, then 
passes out again, still in a thought- form, but having acquired 
something of earthliness by which it may be received by a 
somewhat lower mind, where the process is repeated. It 
thus continues to descend, becoming more and more 
material, or it may be called tainted ; but only by such 
means could it at all reach the lower levels of humanity. 

It was also symbolised to me as a long-suspended thread, 
having on it different beads at intervening distances ; the 
upper one being dazzlingly white and transparent, the 
descending ones becoming gradually coloured by the thread, 
or mind, whereby they have travelled, of which the higher 
ones may still retain glowing rainbow tints which become 
muddied in their transit, until at length they appear opaque 
and almost black ; but the downward shading is so gradual, 
that by carrying the eye upward, it may be seen that all is 
in harmony, and hope may be felt that the clouding may be 
cleansed away, and the pure thought, although apparently 
almost annihilated, may eventually be able again to spring 
into life. 

All this came fragmentarily during our conversation, and 
then Mrs. T. passed into trance, and said : — " They get 
first into the sphere where it is possible to apprehend naked 
Truth. Then we shall do well to bear this truth in mind, 
that sometimes what we take for falsehood or error is be- 
cause of its clothing, or what is put on to it by passing 
through various minds, when it gradually gets encrusted, 
and the form of the essential truth is changed by these 
encrustations. So we say, it is false ; it is an imposture, 
and no truth is covered here. But Our Lord, and many 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 32 I 

who are less wise, could find in these malformations spiritual 
truths disguised; and we who can be wise enough to examine 
what is meant by each presentation, may gain much wealth. 
In Our Lord's plan of the universe all is conserved, and 
nothing is common or unclean. In all humility, from highest 
to lowest, we may take this lesson into our hearts; thus 
The Lord's name will be praised." 

She sat silent for a few minutes, then pointing to the 
miniature wheatsheaf of which I have spoken, she said : — 
" She is here.''' [Who ?] " She who was gathered in the 
fulness of time, and whose work is fitly represented by fruit- 
ful corn." [You mean your beloved relative; but has her 
presence anything to do with what has been said ?] " No. 
But it means that she could not see that some things were 
true that were not according to her own perception of truth. 
She is listening, and what we have been talking about has 
been szx&for her, for since her change of state she has not 
been happy ; she could only see things in her own way. 

" It has also something to do with this burning (pointing 
her fingers towards one another). You must be pricked on 
the right hand and on the left to open the body to a per- 
ception of The Lord, and if one had not .been pricked in 
body and in spirit one cannot see ; and in some way it has 
now been given to her to feel the importance of what has 
been here said, and in God's mercy it has been her first 
help in understanding her place in the plan of life. She is 
stroking my hand. It is the first time I have had the 
apprehension of her presence, but I have had with respect 
to her a feeling of sadness, as if there had been disappoint- 
ment to her, but without any detailed causes. Her life was 
outwardly full of good work — of good and useful work — 
but so. full that she, as it were, suffered interiorly by being 
drawn surfaceward, and by the external life being too 
active and made of such paramount importance. There 
must, for a time, be for her a period of repose ; she must 
wait upon The Lord, and be content to see others take 
up her accustomed routine. She dwelt too much in one 
groove of thought and action, and was unable to see that on 

x 



322 EVENINGS AT HOME 

either hand might be branching side-walks as efficient, and 
enlightened by as much truth as the path whereon she her- 
self trod. Things more necessary to her happiness will 
gradually be unfolded to her as the equilibrium between the 
inner and the external bodily life is adjusted, but that will 
not be for many days. For the present this interview will 
help to comfort her, and will aid her in the way of attain- 
ment." Here she awoke into her normal condition, but 
she still felt her relative's presence while I read it to her, 
and we continued talking. 

I went to see her again in about a month, and after 
dinner I read the communication to her, for she scarcely 
realises the fulness of them in the first instance, as she may 
be only partially roused. I offered if she liked, to copy it 
out for her sister, who was anxious to know anything that 
might come in reference to their relative. She made some 
scruples as to giving me so much trouble, but those I over- 
ruled. Then she said, but more as if enunciating what 
came to her from some other mind : " Do you not think it 
ought to be published ? I think it is meant not only for 
her, but for a number of others : (passing more under in- 
fluence) : it could be called — A Lesson — A needed Lesson." 
[Do you mean the whole ? from the beginning ?] " About 
the thought ? Yes — but it will be more instructive without 
personality — no — not more, it will be as instructive." [I 
could write it for the Psychological Review* and perhaps 
you would send.it.] "Yes, I can send it, and say that I 
think it should be read by more than first listened to it. It 
is a thought, and that is all ; and we intended it to be 
circulated." Just then I was startled by a flash passing at 
about a yard's distance before my eyes towards her, and 
although I could not have defined the shape, the feeling 
was so strong that I exclaimed, [The Dove flashed before 
me!] "Yes, I felt its head here, (touching her right cheek), 
and it is the harbinger of peace and plenty. Peace — this 
is peace (raising her left hand and placing it as if covering 
her right, which she held very much cupped), and the 

* It was published in the last number of that series. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 323 

other, plenty^ and there must be much room to hold it. 
Peace and Plenty (here she held her hands as if rilled to 
the uttermost). It cannot yet rest, because the water still 
covers the earth : it will come again and often. But when 
the waters subside, and the earth is left dry, then the Dove 
will take its flight, and go perchance to give comfort to the 
one who works in the West." I put some questions, the 
answers to which were to " rest in my own heart." Then 
was said : " When your feet take firm stand, such other 
change will be. . . . When you rest in strength" [Ah! that 
I think may be a long time.] " And it may be only a short 
day." [Any way, a little bit of firm ground would serve 
me.] " The Lord who knows your need will give you 
support." After a minute she shook my hand with her left 
one, and in a changed voice, said briskly — " Good-bye, 
Georgiana," and immediately awoke, feeling a pressure as of 
great weight in her right hand, which was the sensation of 
my promised " Plenty " that she still retained, and she 
remembered having felt the Dove's head against her cheek. 

We afterwards learned that the spirit who uttered the 
last three words was my cousin Mary, and indeed if the 
change had not come so unexpectedly, I should have 
recognised her immediately, for the manner and the fare- 
well intonation were essentially characteristic, and it is 
those kind of small evidences that people are so apt to over- 
look, and yet they are truer tests than any that can be 
planned beforehand as what ought to be required. 

On the 31st of December Mrs. T. came to spend the 
day with me in honour of the twentieth anniversary of my 
mediumship, and in the afternoon she told me about a 
special circle she was attending at Mrs. Billing's, for the 
enunciation of some spiritual theories by the direct voice ; 
but she did not know much of what was said, as she was 
usually in a kind of quiet semi-trance. After tea we had a 
seance, when she took up the pencil, and some curious 
writing upside-down was done, so that it was in the right 
position for me to read it : also, under influence, messages 
were given from several of those dearest to me, one of which 



324 EVENINGS AT HOME 

was spoken in a sort of poetical strain, and although I cannot 
say much for its value as poetry, yet that, too, was a test, as 
the speaker was one who had once filled a page of my scrap- 
book with original verses, and was the only person who had 
ever done such a thing for me, also it was his only effort. 
She had been occasionally suffering from acute pain about 
four inches below the collar-bone on the left side, for which 
she had consulted a physician, who had attributed it in some 
way to diet, and had recommended care; and while we 
were still amusedly talking over what had passed, she said, 
while placing her hand on the spot; "They are shewing 
me about that pain. It is power taken for helping those 
voices, and last night I had it again, only not so severely." 
Even as she spoke, she passed into trance, so I enquired, 
[Ought she to go?] "There is something the matter with 
the left lung ; hence the pain, which is caused by obstruc- 
tion, otherwise no pain would attend the abstraction of such 
power." [In that case is it right for her to go to the meet- 
ings?] "No." [Can she in some way retire from these 
seances without any worry as to the cause?] "Perhaps — 
But she probably may not be able to go again, but if she 
goes, she can be taken care of, for it is not a necessity that 
she suffer." [Could I help her in any way? for instance, 
by prayer on the Thursday evenings, on which the circle is 
for the future to be held?] "Yes, — by centering your 
thought he?'e " (pointing to the spot). Here she awoke, and 
I explained to her what had passed, and how desirable it 
was that she should if possible give up attending the circle, 
which she then told me she had only joined for the sake of 
making up the number (in a pecuniary sense, I think, so 
that that was settled), and that the unexpected change in 
the evening of the week upon which they were to be held, 
might compel her absence, because of other engagements. 
There was something more given upon the subject, but 
this has been sufficient to shew that it is necessary to be 
extremely cautious as to the especial state of health of the 
sitters when forming a circle for a series of seances, and 
that any one who suffers in consequence should with- 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 325 

draw immediately, at any rate until the ailment shall have 
been subdued. 

She again passed into trance, and said : — " Be not forget- 
ful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained 
angels unaware. — The Angel of The Lord encampeth here- 
about, and on this spot will be fixed His tent (pointing 
upwards with much solemnity). When He fixes His tent, 
it will be on the rock, and it will stand, and no flood will 
overtake it ; and in the tent some will be succoured, some 
will be strengthened, ere they go forth to the battle of the 
forces ; and these can return and be again strengthened for 
the work's sake. — Now, Faithful, what wilt thou ask in the 
name of The Lord % " [I know not what to ask — whatso- 
ever The Lord wills to send.] " But The Lord wills to be 
enquired of, concerning the gifts thou wouldst receive." 
[1 fain would receive my sight. — That mine eyes may be 
opened to see the spiritual beings around me, as was vouch- 
safed to the prophet's servant] " .... If thou hadst 
asked for thine hands to be filled, and the way of thy life 
lightened, even this would have been given thee. Thou 
shalt receive thy sight, and all these other things will be 
added thereunto. But the time waits. — The sun will surely 
shine on thy pathway, and its light will brighten all thy way, 
and so, God's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." 
There was a long pause, then she resumed, with strong 
emphasis. "The earth is The Lord's, and the fulness 
thereof; the world, and they who dwell therein. Shall He 
not do as He will with His own ? Is there any to bind or 
to loose save The Lord Only ? 

" There be those who say — A stone was my father, a stock 
was my mother. I came from the earth, to the earth I 
return : — there is no will save mine, there is no power. — 

"The Lord is about to lift His right arm (here she raised 
hers with a powerfully threatening attitude), and when it 
falls (she here brought her hand down on the table with a 
vehement blow), these children of stocks and stones will be 
crushed to powder : it were better for them that a millstone 
were put around their necks and they were drowned in the 



326 EVENINGS AT HOME 

sea." Further denunciations were given with yet more 
vigour, and when she finally awoke, she was troubled and 
awe-stricken with the prophecies of woe that I had to read 
to her. She then asked for the Bible, and in the same 
forcible manner that is usual with her, it was opened, and 
the fingers of each hand pressed on opposite pages. The 
first she read was still denunciatory, Isaiah xix. 1 to 10. But 
the second ends more tenderly : Isaiah xvi. 1 to 5, which 
says — "And in mercy shall the throne be established : and 
He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judg- 
ing, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness." 

She was again impressed to take up the Bible, which was 
turned several times in her hand ; and as it was opened, she 
said, "This is for you." The words were towards me : the 
first was, Isaiah xxx. 20, 21. "And though The Lord give 
you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet 
shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, 
but thine eyes shall see thy teachers : and thine ears shall 
hear a voice behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye 
in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to 
the left." The second text was from Isaiah xxviii. 29. 
" This also cometh forth from The Lord of hosts, which is 
wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." Thus the 
year ended for myself with words of comforting promise. 

I accompanied Mrs. T. on the afternoon of the 16th 
of January 1880, for a seance with Mrs. Billing, and after- 
wards went home with her, and in the course of the evening 
I mentioned that on the previous Sunday afternoon, I had 
been sitting in deep thought, and when I looked up I saw, 
just above my worked chair, a spirit light in the form of a 
small hovering bird, which rested quietly for about the time 
that I might have counted three. " At the moment you 
spoke to me," said she, " I was seeing the Dove." So we 
had no doubt that it was my impression of the Dove's 
presence that induced me to mention the vision I had had. 
I have already told of the first glimpse I had of her, so that 
this was the second, and I have had none since, but on 
both those occasions the fruitful branch was coming across 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 327 

the waters to me, in the shape of a remittance from my two 
dear boys in succession. 

I will endeavour to give the substance of our seance with 
Mrs. Hollis-Billing, for I may only now and then remember 
the exact words. It was a densely heavy, rainy day, coming 
after the previous evening's snow, so that it was neither 
wholesome nor pleasant for any one. We found that Mrs. 
Billing was not very well, for she had been out to give 
se'ances on the two previous evenings, so that she was 
fatigued and otherwise poorly. I asked whether she would 
like me to mesmerise her (for mediums do sometimes 
object), and she said she should be glad, if I felt the 
" impression " to do so, and that had necessarily preceded 
my offer. At first the mesmerism was entirely to the throat ; 
the lungs were next worked upon between the shoulders, 
and finally the spine, especially the lower part, and in each 
case my " Friends " had of course found the seat of 
mischief. 

We all three then went into ' the completely darkened 
back drawing-room, where we sat for some little time in 
quiet conversation, when suddenly a brisk clear voice 

exclaimed, " How are you, Squaw T ?— glad to see you, 

Soh ! " — It was the Indian, Skiwaukie, usually greeted and 
spoken of as " Ski," who then said a few cordial words to 
me, expressive of pleasure at my visit, which would make 
us mutually acquainted. He talked to Mrs. T. about 

"Chief" T , and his present improved state of health, 

and various family matters. He then spoke to her about 
another person, saying that there was nothing spiritual there, 
for that the groove in which he dwelt had money only as its 
end and aim. The phrase he then used had reference to 
something in the earlier part of the conversation, when we 
had been talking of the narrowness of scientific men and 
such-like, who will receive nothing out of their own channels, 
and as Ski said, " would wish to cut a narrow path for other 
people to walk in." He spoke of some one she had had to 
do with, who was not of a very warm-hearted nature, and Ski 
said she was like a sponge, wiping up everything and keep- 



328 EVENINGS AT HOME 

ing it. All at once he said, " Well, Squaw Houghton, what 
about the photographs ? " [Oh ! I have one in my pocket, 
done some little time since by Mr. Hudson, of Dr. Friese.] 
" Yes — of Paulina, I told Dr. Friese to go to him, and 
that he would get Paulina, and he did" [I have one of you ;] 
said I — " Oh ! I know you have, you have had it a big, long 
time." Which was true enough, for it was the one done 
stereoscopically in 1873 : and I spoke to him of its close 
resemblance to the photograph lately given in the Medium. 
We then had some considerable discussion as to the proba- 
bility of the photographic work being resumed, and Ski 
said, " One special person was appointed from the first for 
that work, and you are the one selected." How or when it 
was to be resumed was not clearly told, and perhaps Ski 
does not know, but we did not question, for I do not think 
it well to seek any information beyond what is volunteered. 
" I have been to your house, and seen your pictures," said 
he, so I asked what he liked best. " Oh ! those beautiful 
lines and colours." [Did you see the one I was shewing to 
Mr. Hudson on Wednesday ?] " No : what was it ? " I 
then explained to him that it was the monogram of 
the Queen of Wirtemburg, which I had shown to him 
because a Russian gentleman had been about London 
a good deal with Dr. Friese, and perhaps on some 
future visit to England they might come to see me. Ski 
expressed a great desire to see the picture, so I made an 
appointment with him to come to-morrow (Sunday, January 
18), at two o'clock, when I will establish it on the easel, 
and I have no doubt I shall have some intimation of his 

presence. . . . Presently he said, "Squaw T , St. John 

is by you: he always comes when you are here." This led 
to our talking of St. John in conjunction with us both, and 
also to a great deal about Spiritualism in a religious point 
of view, and Ski said that his chief aim was to lead people 
into higher thoughts on such matters, and out of the 
frivolous excitement seeking which resulted in such painful 
affairs as one that had lately taken place. " I see a spirit 
by your side who is always with you ; do you see him ? " 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 329 

No, I told Ski that I had not yet the happiness of the gift 
of sight, but looked to its coming to me somewhen. Mrs. 
T. asked about the health of a friend she was anxious 
about, and Ski said she was better, but must not tire her- 
self with too much talking ; and some observations were 
made about her "Chief," when Ski told of a lady who 
said that the worst she wished for her Chief was that he 
would go to Heaven. He then said he would retire for a 
little while and try to help some one else to come. Shortly 
I heard a very faint whisper of — " Mary — Mary — I am so 
glad, Georgiana, to speak to you here." Mrs. Billing asked 
if I recognised the spirit, and I told her it was my cousin, 
the wife of Mr. Pearson, who has been once or twice at 
her public circle, and she knew him very well, but had no 
idea of our relationship. Mary spoke a little more, but 
nothing of special import. She finished with a warm 
" Good-bye, Georgiana ; God bless you." After a short 
interval came another whispered voice, yet closer to me. 
"My dear, I am here." [Who are you?] said I, not at all 
realising it as a test. — "Waiting, waiting, waiting." Still 
I did not catch the idea, till Mrs. Billing said, "Is there 
any spirit who might use that phrase to you as a test ? " 
When the rhymes spoken through Mrs. T. on the last day 
of the year, of which those had been the opening words, 
were brought to my recollection, so I recited them all, and 
he repeated them after me, but being the first time of his 
exercising a voice, he could only add a final " God bless 
you." 

Then a spirit friend of Mrs. T.'s spoke with her for 
some little time, and after he had taken leave, Ski again 
conversed with us upon the expected changes. . . . He 
told me with much pride, that he had a portrait of St. John, 
a photograph in a frame that had been presented to him 
by a lady, on his birthday fete, December 29th. Mrs. 
Billing shewed it to me after the seance, and it is from a 
beautiful piece of sculpture, and I do not wonder at his 
pleasure in its possession. At last he said he had done 
all he could for us, and was glad we had been able to have 



3$0 EVENINGS AT HOME 

so good a seance, which could not have been expected. 
[Because of Mrs. Billing not being well ?] " Ah ! no, my 
medium being poorly makes no difference, but because the 
weather is so bad that with some sitters they might scarcely 
have been able to get a word." [Did we bring the bright- 
ness with us ?] " Yes, you brought the sunshine in your 
pockets. Good-bye, Squaw T : good-bye, Squaw Hough- 
ton. I am very glad to have seen you both." And thus 
ended our very pleasant seance. The voice of Ski was 
clear and bright, and I was much amused by his continual 
use of the interjectional Soh ! either beginning or ending a 
phrase, and sometimes both, with wonderfully varying 
intonation. Mrs. T, afterwards said that she thought my 
having mesmerised Mrs. Billing made one chief element of 
success in the seance. 

January 19. — Skiwaukie kept his appointment yesterday, 
and at first he interested himself in reading a letter I had 
just written to Mr. Hudson, after which he noticed many 
things about the room \ he then accompanied me to the 
portfolio stand, whereon I had already placed the portfolio 
containing Queen Olga's monogram, which was to be looked 
at there instead of upon the easel as I had expected ; and 
thus Ski had a steadfast look at each drawing as we passed 
through it. Some I had to take out, and hold up for more 
perfect inspection, and the O. R. was thus held for him for 
a considerable time. When the contents of the portfolio 
had been thoroughly examined, I had to close it up, and he 
seemed much interested in the careful arrangements to 
protect the drawings from any possible injury. I then ful- 
filled a promise I had made on the previous day, when I 
sent to Mrs. Billing, as a gift for Ski, a photograph of " The 
Eye of The Lord " (No. 2), of which I said I would shew him 
the original on his intended visit to me. He contemplated it 
a long time in steadfast stillness, and afterwards inbreathed 
to me that he had learned from it many spiritual truths that 
were new to him. He took his leave at ten minutes before 
three, having to keep another engagement, but he was sorry 
to go away. While I was copying the foregoing into my book, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 33 1 

I received a note from Mrs. Billing. "January igf/i. — 
Dear Miss Houghton, — Ski is much obliged for the Photo 
you so kindly sent. I think it most wonderful, and feel that 
I shall often look at it with pleasure. He has paid his visit 
to you as he promised, and was much pleased with what he 
saw. Hoping you are quite well ; with kind regards, I am 
sincerely yours, Mary J. Billing." 

I went on the 23rd of June to Mr. Burns's soiree at the 
Cavendish Rooms, and while talking to Mr. Hudson, Mr. 
Towns tapped me on the shoulder, and said that he had 
been wanting to get at me, for that he had seen a very 
ancient individual standing by me, with his breast all written 
over with Hebrew characters — a great deal of writing. I 
asked if he could give me the name, and he said it was one 
of the sons of Jacob. "Is it Ephraim?" said I, feeling 
that son and grandson would be synonymous, especially the 
one from whom a tribe was named. "Yes, you are right." 
So I told him my belief that the English are the descendants 
of Ephraim, also some of my specific feelings with respect 
to him. He went on to say that in the coming changes in 
this new dispensation, those ancient ones would be promi- 
nent workers, as they had not been able to be in the former 
one, and that they were peculiarly linked with me. Much 
more he told me of my approaching work, when I shall be 
one of three who will have to bless the other workers. He 
said he had been obliged to tell me all that, and was very glad 
of the opportunity of my moving down to that part of the 
hall. 

Mrs. T. came to me on the evening of December 13th, 
when there were many things of different kinds to discuss, 
more especially the next evening's Council meeting at the 
B. N. A. S., when the secretaryship question would be 
finally concluded, although it was already virtually so, for 
the financial gain would be a certainty, and that was a 
necessary consideration with us ; but we feared there might 
be some present who might raise obstacles. During our 
talk she passed under influence, and some fresh light was 
thrown on an important point. There was also a prophecy, 



33 2 EVENINGS AT HOME 

ending with these words . . . "and a great support may 
drop from you." [We can only trust in The Lord's help.*] 
" But at the proper time The Lord can again engraft this 
useful member, and the work will be no more hindered. 
You will be led to say, ' All can now be made right.' . . ." 

On the 14th the attendance of members of Council was 
large, but notwithstanding the universal expectation, all 
went off amicably, and I think spiritual power had been at 
work to still the troubled elements. Curiously enough, after 
the members had dispersed, I had a conversation with two 
gentlemen, one of whom did not belong to the Council, 
when every bit of her revelation was corroborated in all its 
details, and alas ! early in the following year the prophecy 
was fulfilled, although not by the will of the "great sup- 
port ! " but I trust the time may come when he will again be 
engrafted upon us. 

Mrs. T. came to me on the closing day of the year 1880, 
and I will make one or two short extracts from my records. 
Very denunciatory texts had been given from the Bible, 
and after we had discussed the sad prophecies we sat silent 
for some little time, when she said to me, "What is the 
name of the prophetess?" I saw she was passing under 
influence. [Do you mean Anna?] "Yes, I hear some one 
calling you Anna the prophetess." [I wonder why.] "Be- 
cause thou speakest by power that is given thee." Again 
there was silence. . . . Her hands were resting on the little 
table, but presently she raised her right hand pointing up- 
wards, placing the elbow on the table, the fingers slightly 
bent forwards as if to attract mine, but I found I had to 
raise both hands in conjunction with hers, forming a kind 
of tent, and it came to me to say, " The hand of The Trinity 
as a tent enfolding the faithful." ... A great deal passed, 
but her final persojial words for me were — "There is more, 
but I cannot catch the rest. It is going to be a very fid I 
time for you. — I think for a good while." 

* Even at that very moment the feeling came to me that it was M. A. 
(Oxon) who was alluded to. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 333 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

I had for some time past seen in Spiritual Notes occasional 
observations as to an association of some kind that was in 
contemplation or formation, under the title of the Guild of 
the Holy Spirit, but it had not struck me to enquire into it, 
as there -had been other combinations of Spiritualists with 
which I certainly would not have connected myself. But 
on the 1st of November I attended the Discussion meeting 
at our rooms in Great Russell Street, arriving there very early, 
as I like in such cases to see the most I can of my friends. 
Very soon after I got there the Rev. Dr. Davies came down 
from the little upper room (which I of course knew that he 
was renting from us), and was very glad to find me there, as 
he wanted to tell me all about it. He then explained that 
he was the Founder of the said Guild, and had had his first 
small gathering that afternoon (All Saints' Day) at four 
o'clock. He entered into full particulars of his views and 
wishes, being well assured that they would be in accordance 
with mine. His plan was to hold sittings there twice a 
week (or more often, if the numbers grew), commencing 
with a short service for the administration of the Sacrament, 
and that then the circle should sit in a sort of stillness, wait- 
ing for what might come. There was to be singing, and 
whatever else might be deemed expedient, either in the dark 
or the light according to directions received at the time, 
but his desire was thus to give them a religious character 
and to prevent them from degenerating in any way into 
frivolity and trifling. He wished them to resemble as closely 
as might be the assemblage in the upper room on the Day 
of Pentecost. The thought had been for some time in pre- 
paration, and he had had a number of letters from deep 
thinkers in many parts of the kingdom who had already 
enrolled themselves as members of the Guild, and who, 



334 EVENINGS AT HOME 

wherever they might be, would unite in prayer at the hour 
appointed for the meetings, thus to be joined in spirit 
with those who were present. The hours fixed were to be, 
four o'clock on the Monday afternoons, and eight on the 
Thursday evenings : the latter I could manage, and pro- 
mised to be punctual and constant unless anything urgent 
should supervene to prevent my going. I then accompanied 
him upstairs to see his arrangements, and found that he had 
fitted his room up quite as a little oratory, and it already 
had the feeling of a place appropriated to praise and prayer. 
They were very happy little meetings, rarely exceeding a 
dozen, but the elements were harmonious, and the fact of 
Dr. Davies donning his surplice tended to give sacredness 
to their character. The manifestations were never very 
powerful, and were chiefly mental, but it was not excitement 
that was sought, so that what came sufficed for the few who 
formed the steadfast nucleus, while there were some who 
perhaps only came once, and some who were irregular, but 
that might be in a degree from the force of circumstances. 
After a time, contributions were made for the purchase of a 
harmonium for use during our services of prayer before and 
after the sittings, one of our members being kindly the 
instrumentalist. 

On my second occasion Mrs. T. had come here 
towards the close of the day, and received a strong impres- 
sion to accompany me, which she did : (and oh ! what a 
pouring night it was, so that I was fortunately sheltered 
with her in a cab, instead of walking the weary length of 
Gower Street from the station). She was influenced to 
place the various sitters, and those who were then present 
were as far as possible always to retain the same seats ; and 
other directions were likewise given through her. I also 
was spoken through, which indeed was frequently the case, 
especially when our circle numbered the fewest. Around 
the walls and on the mantelpiece were photographs of 
friends who had passed away, as well as memorial cards ; 
all of which would be likely to serve as links to draw them 
towards us, thus to swell our small congregation into a large 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 335 

one on the invisible side. There was also on the little 
altar-table a good-sized cross, I should think about a foot 
and a half high, which had been prepared with the lumin- 
ous paint, so that it had a sort of moonlighted look when 
we sat in the darkness. 

On the 6th of January a gentleman came, whom I had first 
met at the rooms in Sloane Street, and occasionally since, and 
we were great friends in that sense, but he knows nothing of 
me in my home : he was accompanied by his wife, to whom 
I had been introduced at Langham Hall, after a public meet- 
ing held there by Mr. Enmore Jones. She is a trance medium, 
but passes a life fully occupied in family affairs and such- 
like, so that it was very long since she had been in any way 
influenced. But very soon after our seance commenced, 
in the harmonious stillness she began to see the spirits 
around her, and gave a communication referring to some 
friend of Dr. Davies who was not present, and afterwards 
had a few words from a relative of the lady who was seated 
next to her. She then said, "There is a spirit belonging 
to Miss — Miss — oh ! help me to the name, — I mean the 
lady who paints." Her husband said : "You mean Miss 
Houghton." "Oh! yes — Miss Houghton. It is her 
mother." Of course I made some little response. Mamma 
spoke through her of the extreme beauty of the spirit world, 
details of which it used to be her great desire to learn, and 
she was always disappointed that no descriptions of it were 
ever given to her through me. The medium then came 
close to me from the opposite side of the room (we were in 
total darkness), and began caressing my arms and exclaim- 
ing, while she seemed to be searching and feeling about 
me — "The token — the token!" — to which I could give no 
kind of help, for I did not know of anything she could 
consider in that light, but she seized my left hand very 
strongly (she appears always to be controlled with great 
vehemence), moved the one ring away so as to take a firm 
hold of her own slender wedding-ring, then lifted my hand 
to her lips, kissing the wedding-ring with great warmth and 
fervour. Of course I gave the interesting explanation that 



336 EVENINGS AT HOME 

it was the ring that had been placed on her finger fully 76 
years ago (in 1804), which I had worn ever since its removal 
from her hand in 1868. She spoke some loving words of 
blessing and tenderness ; but this is just the bald statement 
of the circumstance as I noted it down the next day. When 
the candles were afterwards lighted I shewed the ring to 
those who were present, none of whom had ever noticed 
that I wore it, for the thicker ring almost hides it, besides 
which in those meetings we were none of us likely to trouble 
ourselves as to what the others might have On ; but this 
incident was of value to them all as a test of such an unex- 
pected character. 

On another evening, in the dark stillness my hands were 
uplifted to make mesmeric passes, and always with a kind of 
feeling as if I were gathering something into the- room : then 
gradually arose a sensation as of a dense multitude flocking 
towards that upper chamber — a host as it were, and yet not of 
bright ones : — it gave me almost a sense of oppression, as if 
they were an imploring host — but all that then came to me 
was that they were Assyrians, and I explained something of 
what I was experiencing to the other members of the circle. 
As I afterwards walked quietly along Gower Street, it was 
revealed to me that they were the hosts of Sennacherib, 
slain in one night by the angel of The Lord (2 Kings xix. 
35,) who had ever since then lain in a kind of torpor, from 
which they had only now been roused by the mesmeric 
fluid poured through my hands and afterwards converted 
into a species of magnet to attract them to that small 
church, whose chief duty was to help the ignorant and 
suffering ones in the beyond. On the following Thursday 
I was powerfully spoken through, to urge all those who 
were present to give their aid to these " Assyrians wander- 
ing Home ; " entreating them, at any time of day when the 
thought should arise, to utter a prayer for an Assyrian 
wandering Home. From that prayer would issue a beam 
of light, which would be as a beacon to one poor soul, 
inducing him to look upwards, until by degrees he should 
gain more and more light, to enable him to apprehend 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 337 

truths, to which in his long ago life he could not 
have attained, but which in these wondrous days of 1881 
will be bestowed upon countless myriads who have been 
lying supine — therefore not mischievous — until the fulness 
of time, when there is as it were to be a literal fulfilment of 
the prophecy of Ezekiel (xxxvii.),- when the dry bones shall 
become living beings (through the aid of the sons of men), 
and shall be brought to sing their rejoicing praises unto 
The Lord. — Oh ! ye who may read these pages, and who 
believe in the inspired word of old, may I beseechingly 
implore you thus to contribute your quota to aid in The 
Lord's work, and to breathe an occasional prayer for the 
benighted ones of ages, thereby bestowing upon them the 
help they need. It may give a first light to one soul, or it 
may be as another beam to one who is already soaring, 
but be assured that it will not come back unto you empty. 
I have learned that this was the especial purpose for which 
that Guild was instituted (all unknowingly perhaps by its 
Founder), and although its meetings are now at an end, 
the Spiritual Church simultaneously established still 
flourishes, and the work then commenced continues its 
course with vigour, and I know that this assurance (only 
7W7V given to me) will be a comfort to that Founder, should 
these words ever meet his eye in his distant home. 

After the first few meetings Miss Godfrey joined us, and 
was constant in her attendance except when professional 
engagements prevented her from coming ; and her presence 
was a great acquisition, especially to those for whom the 
whole subject was a novelty, for she often had very beauti- 
ful visions which she would describe as they gradually 
unfolded themselves, but I do not remember any of the 
details, and I had by that time become too fully occupied 
to make even the slightest record ; but I know that in one 
instance a sadly unhappy spirit came seeking aid, and 
Miss Godfrey's guardian spirit permitted her to take pos- 
session of her because our little tent was to be a haven of 
refuge for such. She began very scornfully, but by dint of 
questioning I elicited that she had murdered her new-born 

Y 



338 EVENINGS AT HOME 

illegitimate child — and the dire trouble that appeared to 
render her callous, was the belief instilled into her here 
upon earth that that innocent one was condemned to 
eternal perdition because of its death in an unbaptized 
state, and I had to argue long with her before I could 
shake that deeply rooted conviction. She had searched in 
the depths for that poor infant, but hitherto without success, 
but I uged upon her that she had sought in the wrong 
direction, and that she must strive itpwards to have any 
chance of meeting with it. My Zilla was there, and told 
me she would keep, the poor wanderer in view, and would 
give help from time to time, when such assistance could be 
administered. I was in hopes that at a future sitting we 
might have learned something of her progress, but there 
was generally some fresh thought touched upon, which 
probably would be the best suited to meet the needs of the 
circle in the flesh. 

On the 17th of February Miss Cook came, having been 
invited by Dr. Davies. She was quite alone, and our circle 
was an unusually small one. I do not think we numbered 
more than ten. My usual place was on the left hand of 
Dr. Davies, and as we sat round the room, Miss Cook 
might perhaps have been about facing me. When our 
service was over, and the lights were extinguished, raps 
were almost immediately heard, and the first question 
Dr. Davies put, was whether we were seated properly for 
those manifestations, to which a very decisive No was 
the answer, and by dint of further enquiry it was found 
that I was to change places with the sitter on Miss 
Cook's right, so I seated myself by her side, and held her hand 
during the whole of the seance, for the chief part of which 
she was completely entranced, placidly leaning back in her 
chair in a gently breathing slumber. Almost from the 
moment that I had sat down by her side, I had felt the 
spirit-touches in more material character than they come to 
myself; and gradually first one and then another of the 
circle exclaimed that they felt the touch of spirit hands, 
which to most of them was an utterly new experience. The 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 339 

gentleman on her left felt busy fingers undoing his necktie, 
which I think was then laid on his wife's lap. Then the 
hands that touched became more and more substantial, and 
they all felt them as palpably as human hands : one was quite 
a baby's hand, which allowed itself to be tenderly clasped by 
more than one of the party. I felt dear Motee's, giving me 
the various familiar tokens, and placing itself, according to 
my old request, to my lips to be kissed. We also heard 
the voice of the spirit Lillie, and I think we saw her light, 
but in that respect I may be confusing in my own mind 
with a later seance when she was with us ; but at any rate 
it was most interesting, and I can bear the strongest pos- 
sible testimony as to the genuineness of the whole, for, as 
I said before, I held her hand firmly during the whole time, 
and Dr. Davies and I were the only persons in the circle 
whom she had ever seen before. I must also own that the 
tales I had heard circulated made me doubly watchful, and 
therefore I am the more solicitous to make my evidence in 
her favour unmistakably clear. On the next Thursday she 
was again with us, but the rumour of the successful mani- 
festations we had had, brought us such an accession of 
visitors that our little room was quite crowded, some of the 
new-comers being quite strangers, and the result was — 
almost a failure — there was scarcely anything ! Our little 
church was not for the curiosity-seekers, so they went away 
at the close with disappointment instead of wonders to tell 
of. About three months later she was with us for another 
seance, but we were chiefly the habitues, and then again the 
manifestations were very good, and the spirit Lillie came 
amongst us in bodily form, shewing her delicate little face 
by the aid of her spirit lamp, from which emanates a light 
white as alabaster : also she stood on the platform behind 
Dr. Davies, and we saw the substance of her arm as she 
held it up in front of the luminous cross. 

That 5th of May was the last sitting of our little band of 
Christian worshippers, who had gone along in our quiet 
way for six months, but it had not grown into the strength 
that Dr. Davies had contemplated, and another step had 



34° EVENINGS AT HOME 

been urged upon him which would give him promotion in 
his own profession, besides which an offer was at the same 
time made (in conjunction with the other) for a class of 
work for which he is most especially fitted, where there 
would also be openings for his very large family. So, after 
many prayers for guidance, he resolved upon making the 
change, but — as he told me — he would never have withdrawn 
from this especial effort if it had grown according to his 
own sanguine expectations. But clearly, that very stagna- 
tion was the evidence that another field of labour was to be 
opened to him, and that the establishment of this for Spiri- 
tual purposes was all that was needed : its fulness of work 
will be carried on on the other side, and I, for one, do not 
feel that the Guild is dissolved because we no longer hold 
our terrestrial meetings — I believe that we are still all 
linked together, going on in our several departments with 
the duties then entrusted to us. 

A farewell soiree to bid him God speed was held by our 
Association on the 20th of May, and at the close of the 
evening the members of the Guild, accompanied by many 
of the other friends, adjourned once more to that upper 
room for a final service of prayer and sacred song : and 
thus I concluded my ten years anniversary of the Private 
View day of my Exhibition. 

A few days since, I was reading in Light the report of 
the discussion by the Church Congress at Newcastle. It would 
be out of all chronological order if I were now to touch upon 
that meeting, about which I have nothing to say, but I find 
therein a charge which I most unmitigatedly repudiate. 

" But further, we cannot accept that degrading view of 
the body which seems to be an element in the highest 
Spiritualist teaching. It is represented, not as an instrument 
for the acquisition of knowledge, and as being, no less than 
the Spirit, the work of God, and consecrated to His service, 
but as a foul obstructive. Vegetarianism, and of course 
teetotallism, are essential to every one who would reach the 
higher knowledge ; his very residence must be a place where 
no blood is or has been shed." 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 341 

Among Spiritualists there are as many varieties of opinion 
upon the question of diet as among all the rest of the world, 
and I have come to the conclusion that there is no sort of 
general rule, and that the old adage of " what is one man's 
meat is another man's poison " is most essentially true. 
The one great law is that each person shall find out the 
system that shall keep his body in the state of highest 
health ; not coarse, bloated, apparent health, but real vigour, 
so that every faculty of body, soul, and spirit should be in 
fullest power to work harmoniously, and to make the very 
utmost of the years granted to us here below, so as to carry 
all the completion possible into the beyond. My aim 
has always been to attain the very highest that I can, 
and, having ever found my advisers invariably correct on 
all points, I have very frequently taken counsel on that 
matter of diet. When Mrs. Hardinge came to England 
many years ago, she rather inveighed against the Spiritu- 
alists in our land for their consumption of pork in its 
varieties of ham, bacon, &c, saying that no American 
Spiritualists would thus contaminate themselves. Of course 
I at once enquired of my dear friends whether I should 
renounce it, and I was told that, on the contrary, for me it 
was especially beneficial, — and I am led to wonder where- 
fore there should be the prejudice against what she termed 
swine's flesh : some say that it is because pigs will eat all 
manner of food, but in that they only resemble poultry, 
and who, among the most fastidious, will reject chicken, 
unless they are total vegetarians, whose numbers I find are 
much on the increase ? and wheresoever that system agrees 
best in invigorating the individual, it ought undoubtedly to 
be pursued; but in many cases I look upon it as a reaction 
from, and a protest against, the very high living which I 
consider a sin, both towards their own bodies and the 
poverty-stricken ones of our land, who suffer in conse- 
quence of the waste elsewhere. And under the head of 
over-feeding I class the unnecessary number of meals, 
each as it were a kind of dinner, in which so many people 
indulge, until they fancy they are absolutely indispensable — 



34 2 EVENINGS AT HOME 

whereas I find that two are quite sufficient (and no driblets 
in between), breakfast — without meat — and then dinner. 
Formerly I used to take an intermediate slice of bread-and- 
butter, but for the last year or two I have dispensed even 
with that. I do not mean to say that I make myself a slave 
to any rules, so that if I chance to be out, I just take what 
other people are having, and at their hours, and my health 
is so perfect that any change one way or another would not 
affect it. The question to me always the most anxious one 
has been whether by any method of diet, or abstaining from 
special things, I should the better fit myself for the gifts of 
clairvoyance and clairaudience, but the sense of the unfail- 
ing answer has been that our mortal bodies during our 
earthly sojourn should be looked upon as the temples of 
God, therefore they must be kept in pure health, thus to 
become the more worthy recipients of His varied blessings 
whensoever He may deign to bestow them. 

I have heard much upon the food question as to the 
experience of others : — one gentleman can only eat plain 
boiled rice, without any addition whatever, even a pinch of 
salt causing nausea : another has lived for many years upon 
only bread-and-butter : others, who are vegetarians, include 
eggs and fish among the permissible articles. Through 
Mr. Spear directions used often to be given as to the best 
diet for individuals, and that is the real thing to be learned. 
For me, he prescribed any amount of refined sugar, and I 
also feel that I must take my tea fully sweetened. 

I am a teetotaller, but, as I have already said, I did not 
become so on Spiritualist grounds, but on economical ones ; 
and I had really thought that a small amount of stimulant 
was a necessity for the system, especially when growing into 
years, but it has been even then that I have made the 
change, and have found no ill effects from it ; and I would 
warmly advise all my readers to do the same, and to set 
aside the sum they would have spent therein to the purpose 
of helping their fellow-creatures, which will give a glow to 
their hearts far surpassing the previous warmth to any other 
portion of their being. Besides which, I have instanced 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 



3 ±3 



the effect produced upon Mrs. Marshall by the smell of my 
breath after having taken but a half-glass of wine, so I feel 
that by our own self-denial we may give strengthening help 
to the struggling ones beyond. 

A soiree was held in the Cavendish Rooms on the 
5th of January 1881, for the benefit of Mr. Burns, and 
at it I met Mr. Towns, who, as is always the case, had 
some communication he was required to make to me ; 
and as I had been advised to take my slate-tablets with 
me, I was able to write it all down. He said, " I see a 
very ancient spirit standing by you, of the time of Joshua, 
and he says you are to read the first five verses of the 4th 
chapter of Joshua, and afterwards you are to go to the 17th 
chapter, and read from the 16th to 18th verses. I think 
you are to have a vision about them, or something that will 
come to you at a future time. . . Those who live in this 
coming time will not only see, but understand ; and there 
is a new spiritual unfoldment coming to you. This is the 
beginning of the first year of the new pentecostal season. 
Seven years of the outpouring of the Spirit to all who will 
prepare themselves for its influx, so that they can go in and 
out of the two worlds. You are going to have a change of 
condition — to pass into a new condition. During this 
pentecostal season, all must prepare themselves as vessels 
for the out-pouring and in-pouring of the Spirit, and it 
will rest with you." There was some interruption from 
those around, after which he resumed, " They term you a 
sister of mercy, because you survey things in a merciful 
way. You will hear birds chirping and singing ; you will 
hear them about you, and it will be a preparation for hear- 
ing voices. — You are to go on as you commenced, and as 
you are going on : you are not to let the old part of 
religion be pressed out, — you are to hold fast to it all. As 
you sow, so shall the harvest be apportioned." 

There had been some bits of intervening talk, and now a 
great deal was said as to the late changes in the arrange- 
ments of our Association, which he was' strongly impressed 
would be beneficial. He gave me a long message for a 



344 EVENINGS AT HOME 

friend, referring to circumstances which I alone could know 
to be true. Then he added that I had had some home 
trouble that had given me a great deal of anxiety and 
annoyance, and that it had caused much discord and in- 
harmony at times. I answered that it was very true, and 
that it was from an old cook who had lived with us for up- 
wards of six and thirty years, and who I found had always 
been robbing us in every way she could. But I had freed 
myself from her, and that she was since dead. — " Oh ! but 
she is here now : — I cannot see her distinctly, for she is so 
very dark, — but she is not very tall and stoops her head a 
little. She has a great deal to do in your home, and you will 
have to help her. There is still something to be found out. 
— She has to clear and scrape away all the bad influences 
and dirt of one kind or another that she has left there — oh ! 
she has indeed a great deal to do." I told him it was very 
curious that he should give me this communication now, 
for that that same afternoon, while Elizabeth was dressing 
me, she had told me of a dream she had had the last night. 
She had dreamt that Preston was come back, and that in 
her dream she could not make up her mind whether she 
was glad or sorry. (She had made the girl's life miserable 
by her temper.) She did not see her face, for she had 
her back turned to her, and she was doing a thing that sur- 
prised her, for she was scrubbing the kitchen floor, and was 
down on her knees for the purpose ; she had on the old black 
gown she was accustomed to wear. The kitchen was all as 
it is now, but she did not know whether Preston saw or 
noticed any alteration, she was just busy with her cleaning. 
Another theft was afterwards " found out." 

On the 14th of January I had a visit from Mrs. Dr. 
Fuller-Baldwin, with an introduction from Mrs. Cooper, 
with whom she had been staying while at Brighton. She 
was a pleasant genial woman of Welsh birth, but whose 
parents had emigrated to America when she was only five 
years old, and now she had come back to this country 
about some business for her brother, and had been 
stranded here from want of means to take her home, and 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 345 

she had gone through considerable difficulties during the 
last few months. She was a powerful healer with a magni- 
ficent physique, but was unknown to English fame and 
therefore had no patients, and she gave me many of the 
details with the frank openness of a true nature. After a 
time she spoke in a half-dreamy sort of tone, but still in her 
normal condition, of a something concerning me and the 
character of my work, which she felt she could not at all 
understand although she said it. I did, however, compre- 
hend it, for to a certain extent it represented the working 
and intention of my drawings, and was given with great 
depth of insight but with peculiarity of language. I did 
not attempt to write down any of it, from a sense of deli- 
cacy, because it was quite out of my power to offer her any- 
thing in the shape of even the smallest fee, and she was 
well aware, too, that such was the case. She then gave a 
description of a bright, active, energetic little elderly 
gentleman near me, whom it was some little time before I 
recognised. He was my grandfather, Alexander Warrand, 
who has never before been described to me by any medium, 
but as a child I was very fond of him and he of me, and it 
is only now while writing this out (for my only record was, 
"described Grandpapa"), that the full force of the circum- 
stance comes to me, for he is alluded to in the beginning 
of these memoirs, which I then had no idea of being able 
to compile for many long years. 

A special council meeting was held in Great Russell 
Street on the 25th of January, for necessary regulations 
consequent upon the changes that had taken place, and I 
found Mrs. Dr. Fuller there when I arrived, and she was 
still in the reading-room when the meeting was over, having 
remained for the purpose of being introduced to some of the 
members, to whom Mr. Blyton had spoken about her at the 
board. Finally, when all had left except Mr. Pearson, Mr. 
Blyton, and myself, she settled for a small seance with us, 
and after a good bit to the other two, she took hold of my 
hand, and said : — " I do not know what it is — but there will 
be a something in you, or of you this year, that will bring 



L. 



346 EVENINGS AT HOME 

crowds to you. They will come rushing to your home, and 
it will be quite unexpected to you : — some great change that 
you now know nothing about. . . . (Slowly and impressively) 
The wheel goes round — and then the changes come — it has 
been very low down indeed with you, and now you are rising 
to the very top. . . . Oh ! you are going to have Joseph 
with you : — Joseph and his coat of many colours — those 
colours all mean character — or qualities : — and you will see 
them. But what has gone forth from you, will come back 
into the coat — to make it. 

" Oh ! there is something so funny that I scarcely like 
telling you about it. There are quantities of horns — horns 
and baskets. Horns of plenty, and baskets full of every- 
thing you can want : and everybody seems to be crowding 
to bring you things." 

When she had finished speaking, I told them about the 
seance when the materials for the coat of many colours 
really had been brought to me, which interested them all 
very much, for even my cousin Mr. Pearson did not know 
anything of it, for these home sittings have been very little 
known beyond the immediate circle who composed them, 
besides which it was only the pieces that were brought, and 
the after-formation of the coat, with the interpreted signi- 
fication of the colours, had been only between Mrs. T. and 
myself; and just a nine days' wonder and nothing more, 
to any one who may afterwards have heard of it ; so that 
the parallelism between the two explanations was to me very 
striking and a strong evidence as to Mrs. Fuller's medium- 
ship (see page 45). I promised to take the coat with me the 
next time I went to Great Russell Street, so that they might 
see it. The latter part of her vision reminds me of Job, 
when all his many trials were at an end. May it be God's 
will that mine, too, may be drawing to a close, but I also 
pray that I may never forget the lessons taught me in 
adversity. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 347 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

How drearily commenced this year 1881, — There was frost 
so severe that most of the upper-service water pipes in the 
houses were broken, and I shared the fate of my neighbours, 
for it had taken us by sudden surprise : in some houses there 
was no water at all, and one lady at the " Guild " told me 
that for her baby's bath she had been obliged to use melted 
snow, — for there was early snow, — then darkness and fog — 
and on the 18th of January such a snow as London has 
never known within my memory — it was a fine, drifting snow 
that blocked up everyplace, rising fully two feet against these 
drawing-room windows, and yet allowing a glimpse in parts 
of the balcony itself. Thus in the open roads there were 
high drifts, even smothering up carts, so that horses and 
men were frozen to death, not exactly in London itself, but 
within easy distance of it : traffic to it was necessarily 
suspended from all parts of the kingdom ; — the milk-supply 
was utterly stopped, and but for modern inventions matters 
in that respect would have been bad indeed, but fortunately 
the condensed milk was to be had, and as the disaster was 
not of many days' duration, the stock in the grocers' shops 
did not become utterly exhausted. Even the underground 
trains were compelled to stop running on that Tuesday 
night in consequence of the snow. A circumstance hap- 
pened in my very kitchen on that self-same day that never 
even in the far-back years has been known in my experience, 
for, absolutely, the supply-pipe from the cistern to the boiler 
got frozen, so that the boiler had to be carefully attended 
to by its upper lid, or that would have burst. I was with- 
out professional work of any kind or description, and my 
prospects appeared as much closed up from all external 
hope as London herself. 

" The hour that is darkest is the hour before dawn" 



348 EVENINGS AT HOME 

On Wednesday the 19th, a friend came to see me, and 
as it were completely overwhelmed me with the subject of 
his conversation, saying that it was a matter that he had 
for some little time had in consideration. He knew that 
at some distant period I hoped to formulate my records 
into book shape, but the thought was too far away for me 
to have fixed a when, even at the lapse of ten or twenty 
years, for it would be an impossibility without surplus funds, 
and I had not even the indispensable ones. What was my 
astonishment when he suggested that I should begin at 
once ! and that he would provide the needful means and 
undertake all risks. It was like a thunderstroke of joy ! 
But yet fuller and fuller became that joy from the intense 
delicacy with which he made the proposition, saying that 
he wanted a history of this new development of spiritual 
life as it had risen in our land, and that he felt it could best 
be understood by individual experiences, and that as I had 
taken part in most of the external movements of importance 
during the last twenty years, the outside history would 
naturally be interblended with my own, and would thus 
be carried on upon one continuous thread. He questioned 
as to whether I had any special ideas or plans. Oh ! yes, 
the names of the books had long ago been given to me 
(and he liked them both), also that my thought had been 
to illustrate the photographic work, and he acceded to all 
my wishes : — then went at once into the consideration of 
type and such-like details, which were all a novelty for me 
to think upon, for although one naturally finds some books 
nicer to read than others, one scarcely realises the why. 
He suggested a book, the type of which he thought I should 
like, and that I could examine it at the Great Russell Street 
rooms and decide. What I wished was to make my work 
as full of substance as possible without rendering it too 
heavy to hold comfortably, and yet I wanted to pour my 
whole soul into it, and after counting lines in a page, and 
words in a line, I found that the model thus suggested 
would give me free scope for all. 

He had intended speaking to. me on his previous visit, 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 349 

but some one else had come in, which had deprived him 
of the opportunity, but I said that even that had been in 
order, for that I always feel that the 20th of each month 
belongs to me, and the 19th as leading into it — "the even- 
ing and the morning were the first day" — that I should 
begin at once that very night the grijfonage, and the fair 
copy the next morning : and at that very time I set my 
heart upon the dates when each and all of the MSS. should 
be finished. No amount of close work would daunt me, 
and I wrote on with my entire being, singing one continuous 
pcean of rejoicing, and what it was to me few can conceive. 
How little could I have anticipated that the prophecy given 
through Mrs. T. on the closing day of 1880, with which 
my 22nd chapter concludes, should within three weeks be in 
intense realisation — " It is going to be a very full time for you 
— I think for a good while." — Full to the brim it has indeed 
been, — what with writing, proof- correcting, photograph- 
preparing, &c, &c. It has literally been "rising early and 
late taking rest," but it has been to tell of God's Love in 
its greatness and in its minuteness, and to chant my hymn 
of praise all the way through. The year continued dark 
and foggy, so that, notwithstanding the cold, I had to sit 
close to the window to be able at all to see to write, but the 
sunshine in my soul made the outward obscurity of little 
account. 

There have been three great epochs in my annals, 
divided into decades. In 186 1, came the drawing medium- 
ship, to open into all the rest. — In 187 1, the exhibition of 
those ten years of work. — And now, in 1881, this most 
comprehensive labour of all ! — I cannot but speculate — 
what will the next decade evolve? what shall I do in 1891 ? 

My friend gradually smoothed all the details for me, con- 
sulting with me as to each separate item. It was he who 
suggested the monogram of Christ to grace the back of my 
book, as being the most consonant with my feelings, and 
at once expressive to all the world of my standpoint, and I 
owe him another bit of gratitude for the thought. The 
outside garb of a volume is likewise an important considera- 



35 O EVENINGS AT HOME 

tion : it should not only be a suitable cover for what it is 
to contain, but should have a kind of personal distinctive- 
ness, not only as to ornament but colour, and I feared that 
the one I wanted might be difficult to meet with in these 
days of muddled tones, for I wished for a living tint, in the 
freshness of God's creation — that of the orange-leaf green, 
and three leaves were gathered from my own tree for the 
purpose of being matched — and I have been happily satisfied. 
In one particular on which I have not been consulted, it is 
clear that there has been the supervision of the invisibles, for 
now that my first book is out, I see that the cover is lined 
with a delicate jessamine pattern, and I have in this 
volume mentioned that the jessamine is my flower of 
flowers. 

Spiritualists are not bound to be Greek scholars, and 
some of my lady friends have enquired of me the real signi- 
fication of a symbol they know well by sight, but have 
always hesitated to ask of learned men the meaning, while 
the unlearned do not know it, but just pass it by as a 
mystery. My own exact knowledge, too, was incomplete, 
so I wrote to a relative, a very erudite clergyman, asking 
him to give it me in clear, concise form, and what he 
kindly sent me has the .charm of combining Christianity 
with a Spiritual manifestation, making it doubly appropriate 
as the Standard under which I fight ; I will therefore 
transcribe it in its entirety, and I am sure that others will 
be grateful to him as well as myself. 

The monogram \9- is made up of the two letters X and P 

which are the two first letters of the sacred name. 
XPI^TO^ Christos = Christ 
X Chi pronounced like ch hard 



P Rho „ 


j) 


r 


1 Iota „ 


j> 


i short, as \nfist 


^ Sigma „ 


» 


s 


T Tau „ 


>j 


t 


O Omicron 


>j 


o short 


^ Sigma „ 


j> 


s 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 35 1 

This monogram is sometimes called the labarum, — a 
name which properly signifies the military standard adopted 
by the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, just 
before he defeated his rival Maxentius at the battle of 
the Milvian Bridge, a.d. 312. The military standard (to- 
gether with the reason of its adoption) is fully described 
by Eusebius in his Life of Constantine. Eusebius was 
Bishop of Caesarea and a friend of Constantine for many 
years, so that the story rests on contemporary authority. 
The following is Eusebius's account. {Life of Constantine, 
Book 1, chap. 28) Chap. 28 : " Accordingly he (Constantine) 
called upon God with earnest prayer and supplication that 
He would reveal to him who He was, and stretch forth His 
right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And 
while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most 
marvellous sign appeared to him from heaven, the account 
of which it might have been difficult to receive with credit, 
had it been related by any other person. But since the 
victorious emperor long afterwards declared it to the writer 
of this history, when he was honoured with his acquaintance 
and society, and confirmed his statement by an oath, who 
could hesitate to credit his relation, especially since the 
testimony of aftertime has established its truth ? He said 
that about mid-day, when the sun was beginning to decline, 
he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in 
the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription 
Conquer by this. At this sight he himself was struck 
with amazement, and his whole army also, which happened 
to be following him on some expedition, and witnessed the 
miracle." 

Chap. 29. " He said moreover that he doubted within 
himself what the import of this apparition could be. And 
while he continued to ponder and reason on its meaning, 
night imperceptibly drew on ; and in his sleep the Christ 
of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had 
seen in the heavens, and commanded him to procure a 
standard made in the likeness of that sign, and to use it as 
a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies." 



35 2 EVENINGS AT HOME 

Chap. 30. " At dawn of day he arose, and communicated 
the secret to his friends : and then calling together the 
workers in gold and precious stones, he sat in the midst of 
them and described to them the figure of the sign he had 
seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious stones. 
And this representation I myself have had an opportunity 
of seeing." 

Chap 31. " Now it was made in the following manner. 
A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the 
cross by means of a piece transversely laid over it On 
the top of the whole was fixed a crown, formed by the 
intertexture of gold and precious stones, and on this two 

LETTERS INDICATING THE NAME OF CHRIST SYMBOLISED THE 

Saviour's title by means of its first characters — the 
X (Rho) being intersected by P (Chi) exactly in its centre : 
and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing 
on his helmet at a later period. From the transverse 
piece which crossed the spear was suspended a kind of 
streamer of purple cloth, covered with profuse embroidery 
of most brilliant precious stones, and which, being also in- 
terlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of 
beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square form, 
and the upright staff, which in its full extent was of great 
length, bore a golden half-length portrait of the pious em- 
peror and his children on its upper part beneath the trophy 
of the cross and immediately above the embroidered 
streamer. The emperor constantly made use of this salu- 
tary sign as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile 
power, and commanded that others similar to it should be 
carried at the head of all his armies." * 

I have in some instances heard another term applied to 
the symbol, so, as I like to obtain certitude on all points that 
I can, from the very best authority, I again applied to my 
clerical relative, and here subjoin his answer. " I have never 
heard the monogram ^ called the Pax, and I can see no 



* The translation followed in this extract is that published by Messrs. 
Baxter in 1845. 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 353 

reason or sense in such a name for it. At the same time, as 
the two letters of the monogram look like the Latin or 
English letters X and P, it is possible that workmen (sculptors 
or painters) may (in the slang of their craft) call it the Pax 
— but I never heard of it." 

It reminds me of having once heard a respectable woman 
explaining the Christmas decorations in church to a com- 
panion, to whom she pointed out the letters I.H.S. on a 
cross, interpreting them as " I have suffered." 

I had often had a feeling that I should like to have Mr. 
Towns for a seance here in my own home, and Mrs. T. 
kindly smoothed the matter for me to be able to do so. 
The appointment was made for the 28th of February, and 
she was to come as early beforehand as she could; so we had 
a bit of talk, and she remained in the drawing-room while I 
went down to dinner, as I make arrangements for her more 
in accordance with her usual hour. When I returned here, 
she said she had had such a very strong impression during 
my absence, that crowds would becoming up my stairs. It 
was quite a new feeling to her, for that she generally has the 
sense of such a calm stillness here, and she wondered what 
it might portend. I then reminded her of Mrs. Dr. Fuller's 
similar prophecy about a month previously, that there would 
be something that would bring crowds rushing to my house. 

Little Mr. Towns duly made his appearance punctually at 
the hour I had fixed, and while we were taking tea he told 
us some very curious interviews he had had with people, 
whom he had as it were turned inside out. 

When we had settled at the table after tea, he asked as 
to our usual course of proceedings, and I said that I was 
on the point of telling him that I should wish to begin 
with The Lord's Prayer, and that then we would wait for 
whatever might come, and that was quite in accordance with 
his own feelings. I had no idea that the raps came to him, 
but I was glad to hear the three strong raps after each 
clause of the prayer, shewing that the invisibles were uniting 
with us. 

He then said, " How very curiously you two seem to 

z 



354 EVENINGS AT HOME 

belong to each other : knit completely together as it were. 
I can scarcely explain the entire one-ness that there appears 
to be, — it is so wholly harmonious and perfect, but my 
words are weak to express the full unitedness." 

He now suggested that mental questions should be asked, 
to which the responses should be given by blows on the 
table with his right hand, and that sometimes explanations 
are given, with his left hand. He thus answered a good 
many of Mrs. T.'s silent enquiries; I did not ask any 
questions. He then passed into trance, and said, in rather 
a shrill female voice — " Good evening, ladies, — I am glad 
to make your acquaintance, I like to come into the society 
of true people ; allow me to shake hands with you : " which 
was accordingly complied with. She then spoke warmly to 
Mrs. T. about some charitable action she had performed (of 
which I had never heard), giving many of the details, which 
were all true. Then turning to me she said, " We would 
speak to you upon a momentous question, for we know that 
you have been thinking a great deal about this year 1881." 
I pleaded for slower speech, so that I might write it all 
down ; but although I did so, the prophecies were not clear 
enough to be shaped into form, so I will only extract a few 
bits here and there. . . There will be earthquakes and 
great heavings of the sea, and there are days coming in which 
there will be great darkness for the time being ; and we see 
before us more troubles, such as warfare, political dis- 
turbances ; and there will be great floods between now and 
May 1882, and after then you will see the old condition of 
the earth will be on a new basis : there will be a re-awakening 
of the intellect of the great human family. There will be 
also mighty changes — mighty reforms. . . There will also 
be in this coming year a great increase of the death-rate, 
because of the influences of the passing planets ; but we 
can congratulate you both that you will see the end of 188 1, 
when many around you will be called away ; you will be left 
to rejoice in the new year. . . . This is a great purifying 
time, and in 1888 will again appear the Star of Bethlehem. 

Another influence now spoke through him : — " Here is a 






IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 355 

very old gentleman — with a long white beard. He wears a 
robe all dotted with gold and silver stars : he has got a 
girdle round him — he is evidently one of the old patriarchs. 
You must have had a message at some time from Elijah, for 
it is he who now comes again to you. There is a new 
unfoldment going to be given to you, and a new interpre- 
tation." 

To Mrs. T. — "There's such a pretty little girl coming here, 
with curls : she is presenting you with some flowers." 

Turning again to me—" Who's Bertie ? " [Oh ! Bertie ! ! 
(my Arthur's baby) bless him!] "He says, Bless you. He 
is floating about here with a wreath of flowers, and he is 
trying to fix it on your head : — oh ! he is trying to tickle 
your ear, and he is trying to shew himself to you — he is 
trying again at your ear, so that you may feel him." [Then 
I am feeling him, and have been doing so for the last three 
or four days, and I have wondered about it, for I thought it 
was the signal of a baby friend, only it was so much stronger 
than she gives, spreading over all the upper part of the ear, 
as if coaxing and caressing it, while she only touches just the 
tip.] " He came floating about in a nice white light, and 
he has his teacher with him. He is so bright and merry. 
I think his eyes are blue." [Can you tell me the flowers 
that are in the wreath ?] " It is bound round with forget- 
me-nots, and there are moss-roses, and a lot of flowers, 
primroses, violets, and two such fine lilies at the top, and 
some blue-bells, and lilies of the valley. It is a pity you 
can't see them ! He is pushing them into a bunch in his 
hand, and he says — ' Good-bye, Auntie.' 

" Who's Aunt Sarah ? " [She is my very dear aunt.] 
" She is only come to give you a blessing : she says she is 
often with you. — Now I see a lady who looks like some- 
body the medium has seen. She is holding a letter that 
she wrote to her husband, and she tells him not to be so 
depressed in his spirits, she is always near him." [Mary?] 
" Yes— Mary."— " Who is Uncle Ben ?" [My dear Uncle 
Ben! he is Papa's brother, as well as my Aunt Sarah's.] 
" He is very pleased to be here : he is a very nice-looking 



356 EVENINGS AT HOME 

old gentleman, and he always likes to come to you. He 
was very glad to give me his name." All those things were 
curious tests. Mary was my Aunt Sarah's daughter, and 
before her death she did write a letter to her husband, be- 
cause she thought it would be a comfort to him if she told 
him her wishes upon a variety of small details. As for my 
uncle, it was his literal name, for he had been christened 
Ben Oakes, after his mother's brother, but he did not ex- 
actly approve of it while a dweller upon earth, and always 
signed himself Benj. Houghton. 

"Now shall I tell you something about your home in the 
spheres?" [I shall be very glad if you can do so.] "I 
will tell you anything you like, and will say it as slowly as 
you please, so that you can write it down, for I could go 
into a thousand houses and not be able to hold my medium 
in the way I can here. — I can hold him as long as ever 
you please. 

" As soon as you pass over the river of life — when the 
spirit leaves the body, then it begins to live. — I see a magni- 
ficent terrace with several steps all ascending to a beautiful 
porch with many pillars, and between each pillar there are 
such gorgeous flowers, and wonderful plants and evergreens, 
all representing everything that is most beautiful in a tropical 
land. As you ascend this porch it widens and widens with 
a lot of arches like a long vista of these magnificent porches, 
till we come into a splendid place like a temple. It is 
known as the sphere of love and mercy — oh ! and within it 
are such sparkling fountains and lovely borders of flowers, 
such as no eye could conceive, and there are gold and 
silver fish which leap and play and rejoice the moment the 
angelic eyes are upon them. Those beautiful borders and 
flowers and fountains go up in such order, and the porches 
on each side are so splendid. They are all set as it were 
in golden crystal : then each seems to project a reflecting 
light, each representing the seven rays of colour according 
to their order, and as you look up this grand and magni- 
ficent building, no tongue can describe, its beauty, its gran- 
deur : no hand could paint it ! the decorations so perfect 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 357 

that it must lift up a spirit almost to the highest degree to 
be permitted to enter into that beautiful sphere. — And as 
we pass on we see the multitude of those beautiful angels 
as they walk with such exactness that it seems but one 
movement — their dresses all in order, though there are 
thousands of them all seen at once. Everything is order 
as if the eye were the moving feature and all obedient to 
its rule : — all is harmony — all for one united happiness and 
joy. — Then I see flying between the pillars birds of the 
most gorgeous plumage : they also fly all in harmony, and 
all sing together. All is harmony, all joy, all beauty, all 
love, all sunshine. — My dear loving sister, I have only 
given you a very faint description of your future home, for 
it is far beyond the power of my words : — therefore work 
and have faith, for thy crown is what thou hast formed for 
thyself, and thy Father to Whom thou hast lifted up thy 
soul so many times will claim thee as one of His own — 
God bless you. — 

" Do not fear about the medium, but he will take some 
time coming out ; but do not be alarmed, for he will come 
out. He has been far deeper than he has ever been." [Do 
you mean higher ?] " Higher in spirit, but deeper in sleep : 
— we have numbed the conditions to raise up the spirit." 

There was a pause of some considerable duration, and 
then it was clearly Mr. Towns's own inner self that was 
speaking : — " I don't know where I am :— oh ! where have 
I been? — I seem lost : — I can't get across that river — oh ! 
they are bringing a boat : oh ! what a funny river, and 
they are such pleasant people, all smiling : (Then in a tone 
of dismay) Oh ! I don't want to go on that bank, — I don't 
want to go up that dark road : (imploringly) oh ! let me go 
back with you. (Plaintively) They have gone away and left 
me here in the dark : — I don't know where I've got to now : 
— oh ! I've lost my head : I've been away somewhere, and 
I've lost my way. Oh ! I don't know where I've been to, 
I'm sure, — oh ! dear, I hope you'll excuse me (yawning 
very much) — it seems very rude. — Dear me! I shall never 
get awake again, I think. — Oh 1 dear me ! . . . I feel better 



358 EVENINGS AT HOME 

now — at last." By this time he had come to himself, and 
I proposed his moving round to sit by the fireside, where 
we had more talk, and he presently exclaimed, " Who is 
Charlie ? for he is here now ! " My Charlie — of course he 
was : so I pointed to Arthur's photograph, and told him he 
was his brother and the uncle of the dear little baby Bertie 
whom he had seen in his trance, which he remembered 
nothing about. It was singular that Charlie should thus be 
the last to come, instead of the first, according to his usual 
preference, for I had been telling Mrs. T. that I thought my 
first series of Evenings at Home would end with all the long 
account of Charlie as crowning the work. 

That has been the only occasion of my witnessing the 
unwillingness of a spirit to return from the ecstatic state to 
the earthly condition, although I have heard and read of 
such being the case. It certainly was a very curious experi- 
ence, and his miserable tones when left on this dark side of 
the river of life were very lamentable ; when, however, he 
was really with us again, he became quite comfortable, and 
said that he had never felt more brisk nor in a pleasanter 
atmosphere, and he was really sorry when the time for 
departure had absolutely arrived. 

I seldom write out any of my own little conversations, 
but the following one amused me so much that I did, and I 
give it as a kind of sample. I had had a letter on the Satur- 
day evening (May 7th) that had given me much happiness, 
for it referred to the publication of this work ; and while 
writing two or three letters on the subject the next day, I 
had several times felt dear little Bertie's signal, to which I 
only paid the heed of a few loving words. When I after- 
wards established myself to read, he came again, going on 
very persistently with his small sign. I asked if he had 
any message for me. " No." [Are you crowning me with 
flowers?] "No." [Anything for me?] "Yes." [Not 
flowers?] "No." [Fruit?] "No." [Feathers?] "No." 
[Birds ?] " No." [Drapery ?] " No." [Something in the 
way of dress?] "No." [Jewels?] "No." [Are you sure 
you have anything ? for I cannot think of more.] " Yes." 



IN SPIRITUAL STANCE. 359 

[An ornament?] "Yes." [A ring?] " No." [A neck- 
lace?] "No." [A chain?] "No." [A crown?] "Yes." 
[Such as are described in my drawings ?] " No." [A 
golden crown ?] " No." [Gold with gems set in it ?] 
" No." [Any gold ?] " No." [What is it then ? must I 
go on trying ?] " Yes." [Opal ?] " Yes." [Is that all ?] 
"No." [Something bedded in the opal?] "Yes." 
[Precious stones ?] " No." [Flowers ?] " No." [Fruit ?] 
"Yes." [Like our earthly fruit?] "No." [Fruit of my 
life?] "Yes. 1 * Then the description was fully inbreathed 
to me of an opal crown, exquisitely and delicately carved, 
like ivory carvings, as of beautiful clusters of fruit, with 
changing tints, brilliant and glowing, formed of the opal 
only, about eight inches in height. There seems to me 
now, while I write it out, a something that is difficult to 
catch — oh ! it refers somehow to the radiant gleams which 
shoot from it, and seem to fly to distant spots, piercing 
into hearts, sometimes with a soft glow, and sometimes 
like sharp needle-points, wounding to heal; and there 
seems to be no limit — as to the distance where they may 
make themselves felt. . . . They are trying to make me 
conceive some notion of its wondrously delicate tracery, 
almost as if the touch even of infantine spirit fingers must 
crush it, yet really having a strength that Samson would 
have been powerless to fracture. ... I have written out all 
the questions as I put them, for I had had no idea of any- 
thing special, and went on because Bertie was so persistent. 
He says his little fingers retain all the varying tints, and 
sparkle beautifully. 

That which was a mystery to me as I wrote it, is now to 
be explained in this, my closing chapter. 

" Those fiery gleams have at this time work to do in 
the world, going forth as it were in search of hearts that 
may be touched, whether to the strengthening of a pure 
life or to the awakening unto repentance where the life 
may have been sullied. We would fain write strongly on 
this most important point. — Conjugal life is God's ordin- 
ance, — twain beings are born to form an ultimate one-ness j 



360 I" EVENINGS AT HOME 

and blessed are they who here below are conjoined with 
the partner for eternity. But let each man and woman 
examine deeply into their own souls ere linking themselves 
in matrimony, for that tie should be indissoluble, and all mis- 
takes must be borne with. Through this hand we may not 
give the fulness of our meaning, but we make no distinc- 
I 2 I Z il0n Detween woman and man, — God's law for the one is even 
• • • the same as for the other, and that law is absolute -purity — 
from childhood until the dissolution of the mortal form : 



-"T- 



9 

. and the human race will not rise to full perfection until such 

law is universal. Fathers and mothers ! look to it how ye 
train your babes ! remember that the earliest impressions 
are the most permanent, especially when day by day the 
same sweet reticence is inculcated. Our language is 
necessarily vague, but none the less it may strike home to 
the innermost soul, and wheresoe'er it strikes, there will be 
sheltered a ray from the opal crown. Some there are who 
take refuge in The Lord's words, utterly misconstruing 
their import. S. Matthew xxi. 31, 32: " Jesus saith unto 
them, Verily I say unto you, That the Publicans and the 
harlots go into the kingdom of God before you, for John 
came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed 
him not : but the Publicans and the harlots believed him : 
and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that 
ye might believe him." — What is belief? — A leading into 
repentance. What is repentance ? A turning from sin.- — 
The ground of hope for sinners is the henceforward walking 
in the path of righteousness ; not a mere belief but a 
newness of life evincing that belief. But sin, however 
much repented of, has still tarnished, and it is long ere 
the foul spots can be cleansed away : repentance is but 
the first step thereunto. ' Oh ! ye preachers of the Word ! 
see ye to your flocks, whether they be the sheep or the 
lambs. 

Ye must understand also how pure was the tiny hand 
commissioned to place that crown on its destined brow. 
The baby Bertie inherited perfect purity from three genera- 
tions, parents, grand-parents, and great-grand-parents, and 



IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 36 1 

we, who know, could carry the spotless thread yet higher 
and higher. It has already been explained in the earlier 
pages that the opal gem symbolises purity." 

My work went steadily on, and even as I proceeded, 
fresh evidence of watchful care seemed to come to me almost 
daily, so that at the exact moment that I was writing on any 
special subject, a fragment that would dovetail into the 
thought and give it fulness of completion would be appa- 
rently casually spoken while I was in Great Russell Street or 
elsewhere, perhaps reviving some byegone memory, or teach- 
ing me an argument or a point that I had overlooked. My 
first manuscript I finished on Maundy Thursday, and wrote 
the preface on Good Friday — and to this final volume of 
the three I shall be able to affix the date (not yet arrived) 
that I originally planned. 

Mrs. T. came to me on the ioth of June, and after much 
conversation on all that I was doing, we spoke somewhat 
about my full portfolios of drawings, and in the midst of 
our talk she passed gradually into trance, and after a few 
opening words on the same subject, she added: — "You 
won't have time to draw any more, not that you could not. . . . 
You have been so diligent. — You have done what your hand 
found to do with your might, and so you compress much 
work in a small measure of time." (Compressing her hands 
together.) After that, some prophecies were given respect- 
ing the books, of which I must patiently await the future 
fulfilment. 

The last proofs of my intermediate work, the photographic 
chronicles, came to me for correction on the 24th of Sep- 
tember, and the publication has been delayed for the 
illustrations, which are not yet ready, somewhat to my 
disappointment ; but now I can see how providential has 
been the hindrance, for by this morning's post I received a 
letter from His Most Serene Highness, the Prince of Solms, 
(in answer to one I wrote to him some time since), giving 
the highest testimony to Mr. Hudson's integrity, with a 
most gracious permission to make whatever use of it in my 
book that I may wish ; therefore I can insert it in the as-yet 



362 EVENINGS AT HOME IN SPIRITUAL SEANCE. 

unwritten preface. If my own impatient desire had been 
fulfilled (and at this very moment the necessary illustrations 
have been brought to me by post), the weight of this addi- 
tional evidence would have been lost. Another fact also 
the preface will contain, which is that on Thursday, October 
13th, Mr. Hudson came here for a photographic experiment, 
under rather unfavourable circumstances, for our dark closet 
can only be contrived in the underground department, so 
that our journeys up and down stairs are very lengthy, but 
on the seventh plate we did obtain a something. It is a 
manifestation that the outsiders would scorn, but we hailed 
it with joy as containing' a future promise to be in some way 
worked out according to The Higher Will. 

Thursdays were the original photographing days. On 
Thursdays I attended the Guild of the Holy Spirit. — On a 
Thursday I was born, and on a Thursday I believe that this 
manuscript will be delivered, with that date appended to it, 

into my friend's hands may God grant His Blessing upon 

it to work to His Glory. 

Thursday, October 20th, 188 r. 



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